The Last of his Kind
by Greed720
Summary: He'd been in a brutal, life and death battle. A foe that was so far beyond him that it was a miracle he had survived, let alone wounded it. However, despite his many feats, and the skills and abilities, he had honed and developed; he was unable to triumph over his destined enemy! Or at least not yet, his surroundings might have changed, but his adventure was not finished, not yet!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So I was originally planning on updating my Harry Potter story, the Renegade, today, but got a bit pissed off after a flame and said screw it, I'll do it later when I'm in a better mood. So instead I decided to get this idea out, one that I've been musing on for a while, ever since I started watching Danmachi, a few months ago. And playing Skyrim, eight years ago, and which I still do every now and then. **

**This story is kind of a pet project, an interesting one I am playing around with for my own pleasure. I doubt it will be all that popular, but it's something I am interested in writing, hence why I've written it. **

**Either way this is a prologue of sorts, or the first chapter really, setting out a unique character, one who although powerful, will not be so powerful so as to not have room to grow and develop, especially since the Danmachi verse has a home grown challenger that will give even the Dragonborn a run for his money.**

**That and it's a rich and vibrant world filled with lots of interesting characters, and tonnes of potential for playing around with the different familia's and monsters in the dungeon. As a very big fan of mythology this definitely appeals to me. **

**Either way here is the tester chapter, I hope you enjoy it.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls, or Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon.**

**Chapter 1**

**( - )**

With a groan of pain Azoth sat up.

His body was aching all over, and his head was pounding worse than it ever had before, including after that one particularly raunchy night he had had in the Bannered Mare in Whiterun that one time.

Groaning again as he felt his stomach turn, and a hint of bile rise up in his throat, Azoth tugged off his helmet, gasping slight as the sweat, blood and pile that bathed his face was suddenly hit by a gust of cold, fresh air.

Retching slightly as he properly sat up, he quickly had to turn to the side and dry heave.

A few moments later, his head still pounding and his body still aching, he glanced once at his Ebony Helmet, noting as he did so, the large, eight inch long slash that went nearly all the way through the faceplate.

It was not a lost cause, and it could be fixed, but even so it would be a pain in the arse to do so!

Just what in Oblivion's name had happened? He thought to himself, bringing his gauntleted hand up and wiping the blood and filth off of his face, the rough, leather covered mail that protected his palm feeling coarse against his otherwise smooth face.

Why was he feeling so rotten and battered, and why was his enchanted armour in such a weary way?

Oh yeah, now he remembered, that damned dragon, Alduin!

He had been in Sovngarde fighting against the overgrown, pitch black lizard!

For three days and two nights he had fought that beast, man against dragon, hero against monster. Both of them had tried to deal horrific, deadly wounds on the other. Only for his enchanted Ebony Armour to protect him, and Alduin's thick, magic resistant scales to protect the World Ender.

Even now he knew the only reason he had survived was due to that one Shout, Dragonrend. Without it Alduin would have made mincemeat of him. Hell, even with that Shout, his years of experience, and his enchanted armour and weaponry, he hadn't managed to defeat that monster.

The most he had managed to do was smashed his axe into its eye socket, permanently blinding the giant, immortal, black dragon in one eye, and even that much had almost killed him!

He wasn't sure what had truly happened, but he did remember how, after inflicting the wound, Alduin had released a massive explosion of pure force and had come after him with all his millennia of fury. The dragon had flown at him, caught him up in its jaws and flew into the air.

In response he had hacked and slashed at the dragon's head, scoring his snout and face with wounds as he tried to get free. He had even unleashed a Shout, his personal favourite, Unrelenting Force, right into the beast's face.

After that all he remembered was falling, man and dragon locked in an unending, life and death battle as they toppled off of the realm of Sovngarde and into the void.

Casting his helmet to one side at that thought, the battle worn, hand crafted helm landed on the soft grass with a dull thud.

That's right, they had fallen off of the immortal plane of Sovngarde, the Nord's Heaven, and into the swirling, chaotic realm of infinity that wallowed between the different realms and planes of existence.

What did that mean though? He was here and alive, despite his aches and pains, whilst Alduin was gone.

Did that mean that he had won?

Or was he dead, and thus Alduin had won?

No that couldn't be true, if he were dead he wouldn't be feeling this rough, or sore. Not unless he had been sent to one of the realms of the Daedric Princes. Though if that were the case, he suspected he would know it. The pain he was feeling now, would be nothing to what he would be feeling if he had indeed died, and his soul had been taken by one of the Daedra, even one of the nicer ones.

With that comforting thought in mind, he raised his gloved and gauntleted hand and ruffled his sweat drenched, short, white hair. His long pointed ears twitching slightly as the wind caught them, his pale, violet eyes gazing around at his surroundings as he did so.

If he wasn't in one of the Nine Heavens, or in a Daedric Realm, then where was he?

Looking around properly he quickly got his answer.

He was lying on a grassy bank on the edge of a forest.

The nearby trees were large, and verdant, and covered in healthy green foliage.

The sky above him was bright blue, and there was barely a cloud in the sky. Overhead he could feel the sun shining down on him, warming his rapidly drying face.

There were worse places he could have woken up.

With that thought in mind he struggled to his feet, sagging slightly at the weight of his enchanted Ebony armour, but only for a moment before he made it shakily to his feet. His head spinning slightly as he rolled his neck, a chorus of soft pops and cracks sounding out from the action.

Looking down he then inspected the rest of his being, his armour was all but wrecked, and covered in a multitude scratches and dents. That said it had seemingly served its purpose, he still had all of his limbs, which was good. He was still breathing, again good. On top of which, after a cursory inspection he didn't' feel any broken bones, and the few wounds he had were flesh injuries at worse. None of them seemed to be fatal.

So again, that was good. He wasn't in any danger of dying any time soon!

Now that that was resolved, he then turned around and started looking for his weapons, hoping against hope as he did so that he had managed to keep a hold of his weapons!

As the Harbringer of the Companions it would be distinctly embarrassing if he had somehow lost the tools of his trade.

Glancing around, and checking his belt and back strap, Azoth quickly let out a sigh of relief.

Dawnbreaker, the Daedric artefact, and the gift from his beloved, if sometimes difficult, patron, Meridia, was still sheathed at his right hip, as flawless and perfect as they day he won it.

Next was Wuuthrad, the ancient, legendary, two-handed axe that was once wielded by the equally legendary, Ysgramor. Fortunately that was still there too.

Sure it wasn't strapped on his back where it usually was, but it was sitting there safe, and thankfully in one piece, near to where he had awoken. The large, distinctly Daedric looking axe, resting gently, and in one piece, in the grass, its blade still noticeably encrusted with Alduin's golden blood.

That was good, he didn't think Aela or Eorlund Greymane, would have ever let him live it down if he had lost the Companion's sacred weapon.

Then finally, and least importantly of all, yes, his nameless Daedric dagger was on his left hip too. Sure the weapon had been forged by a Master Blacksmith, and then enchanted by a Master Enchanter, and thus was worth an awful lot of gold.

But since he was the one that had made it, it would not have been too difficult for him to make another one.

The weapon, like many of the weapons and pieces of armour he had created over his five years of adventuring, was easily replaceable. It wasn't unique, nor did it have a storied history like his other two weapons, nor the same sentimental value. It was just a tool, one he had long since accepted would either be destroyed, lost, or replaced if he decided he wanted to make something better.

His other two weapons however, Dawnbreaker and Wuuthrad, they were significantly more important. Both of them were immensely powerful, and had a rich history. On top of which they both also represented two of his greatest achievements.

Wuuthrad, represented his becoming the Harbringer of the Companions, his proudest moment.

Whilst Dawnbreaker represented his becoming the Champion of Meridia. Again another proud moment, even if at time he did question the wisdom of bargaining his soul with the ancient Daedric Prince, for power and her sacred sword.

Azoth shook his head at that thought, he had long since accepted his decision, and he had no real regrets. He had done an immense amount of good with his sword, and had saved many lives, and vanquished many foes.

In fact over his five years of Adventuring he had achieved many feats, some of which were far grander than becoming either the Harbinger, or the Champion of Meridia. In his time he had defeated the First Dragonborn, Miraak. He had rose to the position of Legate in the Imperial Army and had personally defeated and destroyed the Dark Brotherhood, saving the Emperor of Tamriel's life in the process. On top of which he had crushed the Stormcloak Rebellion, ending the civil war which threatened Skyrim and the entire Empire.

But no, despite these achievements, his true greatest triumphs, or at least in his mind, were becoming the Daedric Prince's Champion, and proving himself worthy of being the Harbringer of the Companions.

These two more than any of his other triumphs and achievements represented the journey he had been through.

From an orphaned, sewer dwelling member of the Thieves Guild, a literal pickpocket and grave robber, to a Champion. From little more than a common bandit and cutthroat, to the leader of a band of honourable warriors.

From a penniless street rat, to the legendary Dragonborn.

He had risen from nothing, and had become a legend.

He was also pretty humble too…

Or at least most of the time.

Admittedly it was a bit hard at times to maintain a level head when, throughout Skyrim and further abroad, he was known, and recognised, as the legendary Dragonborn; a renowned weapon's master, Master Enchanter and Blacksmith, and Master of the Thu'um.

It was hard not to develop a least a bit of an ego when bards throughout Skyrim sang songs of your deeds.

Not that he was perfect, or excelled in everything of course.

Unfortunately despite his elvish blood he was only adept at wielding magic, so much so that he wasn't even offered a place at the College of Winterhold, even after he saved their ungrateful arses! On top of that his archery and alchemy skills were pitiful. But still, despite this, he was proud of everything he had achieved.

Especially since he was only twenty one!

Azoth grinned to himself at that, even as he leaned down, groaning again as he picked up his heavy battle-axe, wiping some of the blood off on the grass below as he did so, before he then holstered it on his back.

Looking around again, Azoth paused only long enough to scoop up his helmet, and then pull out one of his few remaining health potions, downing it in one as he did so, after which he started heading for what looked like a nearby road.

The moment he took a step forward however, his aches and pains rapidly diminishing thanks to the potion, he nearly stumbled over. His hand instinctively coming down to grip the hilt of Dawnbreaker, even as his sharp violet eyes flicked back and forth surveying his surroundings.

Something felt wrong.

Maybe it was because his body was no longer wracked with pain, and his mind was a little clearer. But suddenly he felt a sudden emptiness inside of himself, almost as if there were a piece of him missing, a connection that he had once had, but which was now lost.

Twisting around, Azoth once again stared around at his surroundings, even as concentrated intently, desperately trying to sense what was wrong.

Suddenly his eyes opened, and his body sagged a little.

His connection to the Warrior Standing Stone, it was gone.

His connection to his Patron, Meridia, the constant drumming in his head, urging him on to hunt down undead and necromancers, and to kill them, it was gone. For once there was silence.

And most profoundly, his spiritual connection to the Divine being, Akatosh, the source of his powers as a Dragonborn. It was no longer there.

All three of these connections, all of which had been a part of him for years, they had all suddenly been severed.

It honestly felt like a part of him was missing.

Panicking slightly at this, Azoth drew his sword, his pounding heart calming slightly as he felt the familiar fire and fury rushing through him as he drew the golden coloured blade. The gem on the hilt glowing as fiercely as ever, even as he felt the part of Meridia's power imbued into the blade flaring to life.

It was not the same as the connection he had previously had, but still, the familiar feeling of the energy now coursing through his veins, strengthen his limbs, comforted him.

Sheathing the blade, but keeping a hand on the hilt he then took a deep breath, calming himself even further as he then released it.

Turning to face the clear open land in front of him, Azoth took another deep breath, only this time he drew upon his knowledge of the Thu'um and on the power of all the dragon souls he had consumed.

"FUS ROH DAH!" Azoth bellowed, a wave of intense blue energy visibly erupting from his lips and expanding outwards, a wall of force that shredded and destroyed anything in its path. The wave of unrelenting force expanding ever outwards, even as it travelled close to thirty metres, before finally dispersing.

Letting out another sigh of relief at that, Azoth nodded. He at least still had access to his powers as the Dragonborn, even with his connection to Akatosh having been severed.

Then again from what little he knew, most of which was courtesy of the Greybeards and rumour, his title and abilities were due to him having been born with the soul of a dragon, only within the body of Mer, not his faint connection to the god Akatosh. That had merely been a by-product of his being the Dragonborn, nothing more.

Nodding at that, Azoth continued walking towards the road, pushing aside his discomfort at the lingering emptiness he was feeling.

It was an odd, and unpleasant feel, but not a debilitating one. It did not physical hurt him or anything, instead the pain was more spiritual.

Even as he walked, he couldn't help but dwell on how something within him was missing.

He had never met Akatosh, so had no personal feelings towards the Draconic God. But still, he had had his connection to the being ever since he was born, even if he only really became aware of it when he slew his first dragon, near Whiterun, at the tender age of sixteen.

As for Meridia, he had met her certainly, and she had been cold, callous and caustic. She had been so consumed with her hatred for the undead and for those who manipulate the dead, so much so that she had barely batted an eye when the young, sixteen year old, Azoth, still a fresh adventurer, had singlehandedly cleared out her temple of the necromancer and his undead horde that had taken up residence.

Even so, he had been delighted when she gave him Dawnbreaker and named him her Champion. It had been one of his first ever proper quests as an adventurer, and the sword, which he had carried and wielded ever since, had not only saved his life countless times, but it had symbolised that success.

That and it also represented who he was as an adventurer, a Hero who fought for the living against the forces of evil!

Admittedly when thinking back on it now, it seemed childish, but at the time he had been sixteen, scared, and feeling very much as if he was in over his head.

Like seriously, one minute he was thief causally sneaking into an Imperial camp to copy some battle plans that his Guildmaster, Mercer Frey, had then wanted to sell to the rebel Stormcloaks, and the next he had been captured by Imperial soldiers and sentenced to death.

From there things had just escalated.

Smiling bitterly to himself at that thought, Azoth finally made it to the road, his armoured feet thudding as he then began to walk along the road's cobblestone. His violet eyes looking back and forth as he searched for a sign, or some kind of landmark he could use to work out just where in Tamriel he was.

Rolling his shoulders as he walked, Azoth continued on in that vain for nearly half an hour, just following the surprisingly peaceful road, and enjoying the sights and sounds of life around him.

Again there were worse places he could have ended up.

As he walked along the winding, cobble road, the feeling of hollowness inside him fading to a background ache, Azoth couldn't help but ponder on his life so far, and what it would mean if this was some kind of afterlife.

He had done a lot in his life, and had created quite a legacy, one which would probably become a part of popular folk lore long after he was dead and buried.

Unfortunately though that legacy was intangible, one day, maybe many years from now he would be forgotten, after which he would have nothing left behind on this world. After all during his years of adventuring, despite his many liaisons with the fairer sex, he had had no children, or at least none that he knew of. As such he had no sons or daughter to carry on his bloodline.

This was especially bad, because he was also probably the last of his race.

He might have been orphaned as a babe, a foundling that had been discovered by adventurers near city of Solitude, after which he had been sent to the orphanage in Riften to grow up.

But that didn't mean he hadn't searched for his parents in his twenty one years of life, or looked into his heritage.

His appearance after all was quite distinctive.

Pale, flawless skin, angular, pointed facial features, long, pointed ears, pale, violet eyes, and a complete, and natural resistance to the cold.

It hadn't taken him long to realise that he was not like the other elves that roamed the land.

He was not green skinned, nor tusked, like Orcs, or Orismer, as they were also known.

Nor was he as tall, or as golden skinned as the Altmer, or High Elves. On top of which he had no natural affinity for magic.

He was not as lithe, or as dark skinned as the Bosmer, or Wood Elves. Plus his archery was terrible, and woodland animals were certainly not fond of him. The amount of bears and wolves he had had to kill was evidence of that.

Then finally he had neither the red eyes, nor grey skin of the Dark Elves, or Dunmer. Plus where they were resistant to fire and had an affinity for that element. He was the opposite and was resistant to frost and the cold.

This he had discovered from a young age. Which of course begged the question of just what he was.

The answer he had found, during his years of adventuring, was that he was a Snow Elf, an Aldmeris, as they had been known, or a Falmer, as they had unfortunately become known.

Azoth was, as far as he knew, the last true Snow Elf. The rest of his kind were all blind, mutated monstrosities that infested the dark places of the world, and haunted the old Dwemer Ruins.

In truth they were savage monsters that ate the flesh of both each other and anyone, or anything, else that dwelled to deeply into their domain.

Azoth was a true Snow Elf, as they had been during their peak. He was the last of an ancient and noble race, the true natives of Skyrim. A proud race that had been crippled by the invading Nords, and abused, enslaved and deformed by the cruel and callous Dwemer.

It was a lot to take in really, and a heavy burden to bear, what with him being the last of his kind.

Shaking his head at that thought, and gripping the hilt of his sword tighter, Azoth pushed those grim thoughts to one side. As he instead he focused on the matter at hand, his expression becoming tighter as he sensed more than saw, an ambush up ahead.

Continuing on a few steps, Azoth soon crested a hill and found himself looking at a massive, walled city in the distance. Near to the city some league or so away, he could see a thriving port town. But mainly his gaze was locked on the truly immense and breathtakingly tall tower that dominated the city, and the landscape all around it.

This place certainly didn't ring a bell in his mind.

There was no place like this in either Skyrim or Tamriel, or at least none that he had heard of before, and considering just how tall and grand the tower was, he suspected he definitely would have heard of it before had it existed in Tamriel.

Which of course brought up the issue. If this was not Tamriel, then where was it? Another continent perhaps? Or maybe another plane of reality?

He had been cast into the infinite void whilst fighting Alduin after all, and after his years of travelling and the many wonders he had seen, and planes of existences he had visited, it would not be all that surprising if this place where he currently was, just happened to be another plane of reality, one very far removed, and completely disconnected with his own.

It would certainly explain why he had lost his connection to Meridia and Akatosh.

Nodding at that thought, Azoth barely even blinked as moments later he unsheathed his sword, Dawnbreaker, and twisted around. His movements; swift, deadly and efficient as he lashed out with his sword, the tip slicing through the throat of some small, skinny grey skinned creature, even as it leapt out of the nearby tree line a stone axe clasped in its hand.

Moving to the side, Azoth ignored the dead creature, even as it burst into flames, the sickly scent of its burning skin filling his nose.

Instead he raised his other hand and drew on his magicka, cold, mist radiating from his hand, even as he sent a burst of frost at another one of the creature. The burst of the novice spell, Frostbite, killing the creature in moments as it literally froze the blood in its veins.

Whatever these savage little things were, they were weak.

Hell, he had fought Reiklings that were tougher.

With that thought in mind he danced forward, his movement still smooth despite his cracked and damaged armour. His sword easily cutting through five more of the creature in seconds. All of whom, like the first, burst into flames as he did so. Before, a few seconds later, they exploded into black dust.

"Hmm, interesting," Azoth mused, sheathing his sword a few moments later after looking around and searching for any more foes.

There were none, they were all either dead, or had fled into the forest.

Walking forwards a few moments later, Azoth picked up a small dark, crystal shard, within which he could see some kind of swirling purple energy.

It was strange, each of the creatures he had destroyed had exploded into dust, like some kind of conjured creature, and left behind these small crystals, each of which was little more than an inch long and a centimetre wide.

Pocketing six of the crystals, Azoth then raised the last one and inspected it. The crystal almost looked like some kind of soul gem, admittedly it was smaller than even a petty soul gem, but still, it was fascinating.

With that thought in mind he once again unsheathed Dawnbreaker and pressed the shard in his hand against it. Closing his eyes as he did so, Azoth could almost feel how the enchanted sword absorbed the energy from the shard of crystal, recharging a small amount of its power as it did so.

"Very interesting," Azoth muttered, these gems, or crystals, acted in the same manner to soul gems. Which meant they could be used for enchanting armours and swords, and for recharging the enchantments on weapons.

Looking down at his battle ravaged armour, Azoth couldn't help but smile, at least there was that. If he accrued enough of these, significantly more powerful of course, he could forge and enchant himself a new set of armour.

Sheathing his sword again, and brushing some of the black monster dust off of his armour, Azoth continued walking down the cobblestone road and headed for the large city in the distance. Orario apparently, or at least that was the name given on a passing sign.

For now he had a couple of goals he wanted to pursue. First things first he needed to find out just where he is, and whether his theory of being in another world is correct. Which if it is the case would mean finding lodgings whilst he is here. A tavern would be the first place he would go once he reached the city, those places tended to be the places to go if you want to get information on an area, or hear the local rumours.

Secondly he needed to acquire a lot more of these monster crystals, though ones on the level of a filled Black Soul Gem, after which he would need to gather the material he would then need to re-forge, and re-enchant, his armour, making better and stronger than before.

Then finally after that he would need to find out whether Alduin was also in this place. His quarrel with the one eyed black dragon was not yet over, and if he were here then he would need acquire the equipment, and hone his skills, so that he could finally end the World Eater, once and for all!

**( - )**

**AN: Yep so, what did you all think? This chapter was mainly about setting out the character, his achievements, some of his abilities and his origins. The next chapter will involve filling in some of the details of the world, and Azoth's personality. Suffice to say it will be interesting, especially his interactions with many of the characters, and the impacts his goals will have.**

**It will also be quite interesting as a character study, as we have someone who went from being a pickpocket to a warrior, and a cutthroat bandit to a hero and an adventurer. Adding to that we have someone who is the last of his kind, but who was never really immersed in his own heritage or culture, an isolated drifter. Honestly, I am looking forward to developing and playing around with his character. Suffice to say its goign to be complex, a mix of honorable, practical, pragmatic, idealistic, arrogant, humble, and all things in between, a contradictory character. Plus some might have noticed the import of some of his named equipment, and what that might say about him.**

**Plus as you might have gathered this is a spellsword/ warrior type character. Not a mage or an assassin, it will be a fun skillset to play with. On top of which I've already got ideas in how to merge him into the DanMachi universe, and where he would be in it.**

**Either way the story should hopefully be interesting and not over the top. Not sure when I will update next, probably depends on interest and my own inclination. I am pretty committed to all of my stories, but a bit ad hoc in how I update them. Plus since I do this for my own fun, and don't get paid or do one of those patron things, I will occasionally start a new story.**

**Sometimes though it will just be a temporary musing, and will be dropped, either due to a lack of interest, or my own dissatisfaction with the story. **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So quite a big, surprisingly so, response to the last chapter, thanks a lot for that! I am glad people have enjoyed the story so far, and appreciate the angle I am going for with the One-Eyed Black Dragon. On top of that most seem pretty interested in the idea of a Snow Elf Dragonborn, and I have to admit I like the idea too. The mystery around that race, and the way they were treated and what they became, it is all very very interesting. Or at least to me.**

**Other than that, thanks a lot for reading, I hope you all continue to enjoy the story and leave a review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls or Danmachi.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_First things first he needed to find out just where he is, and whether his theory of being in another world is correct. Which if it is the case would mean finding lodgings whilst he is here. A tavern would be the first place he would go once he reached the city, those places tended to be the places to go if you want to get information on an area, or hear the local rumours._

_Secondly he needed to acquire a lot more of these monster crystals, though ones on the level of a filled Black Soul Gem, after which he would need to gather the material he would then need to re-forge, and re-enchant, his armour, making better and stronger than before._

_Then finally after that he would need to find out whether Alduin was also in this place. His quarrel with the one eyed black dragon was not yet over, and if he were here then he would need acquire the equipment, and hone his skills, so that he could finally end the World Eater, once and for all!_

**( - )**

**Chapter 2**

**( - )**

**(With Azoth)**

Upon finally reaching the walled city of Orario and entering it, Azoth, had to admit he was impressed.

The city was absolutely massive, and from a first glance, looked very wealthy. The streets were absolutely filled with people; from shouting merchants selling their wares, to richly citizens shopping about, and armour warriors, and cloaked mages doing whatever it is warriors and mages did on their days off.

The place was crazy, everywhere he looked he saw something that surprised or confused him. In the distance, looming over the many tightly packed town houses, and the labyrinth of streets, he could see the occasional palatial tower, or extravagant mansion, or colossal, opulent castle.

More than that though were the people, looking around Azoth now knew for sure that he was not in Tamriel. Sure there were humans wandering around, humans of every colour and creed, some of whom were noticeably armed with weapons and wearing some kind of armour, whilst others were dressed in normal traveller's clothes, or the outfits of gentry.

Noticeably though he could see some, mainly; tanned, fit and attractive, dark haired women, were wearing scandalous clothing that wouldn't be out of place in a bedroom or a brothel. Those few that he passed, he made sure to pay extra attention too, partly because of their choice of revealing clothing, and partly because they seemed a little different than the other humans.

That said there were not just humans in the city. Intermingling with the multitude of humans of every creed, colour and gender, he could see elves, or at least what he thought were elves.

They were certainly more beautiful than the average human, with the delicate angled features and long pointed ears his kind often boasted.

But these elves did not have the nut brown skin of Wood Elves, or the grey skin of Dark Elves, nor even the golden skin and hair of High Elves. They certainly didn't have the very pale skin colour, and white of the Snow Elves, or rather they didn't resemble him that much.

Instead they looked like just more attractive humans who just happened to have long pointed ears, with them having the same skin colour as the Nords, Imperials and Bretons, and a multitude of eye and hair colours, with them being as varied as the humans were in that regard.

It was, for Azoth at least, very bizarre.

That was not all though, even stranger still he could see what could best be described as animal people walking around, and he wasn't talking about the cat like Khajiit or the reptilian Argonians that he knew.

No, these animal people had the faces and appearances of humans, only with them also have additional animal like appendages. Some of those he passed, he could see had cat ears and tails, whilst others had dog ears and wagging dog tails, and there were still others that he didn't recognise, or at least he couldn't tell what they animal their tails and ears were supposed to be from.

Honestly it was fascinating, everything and everyone around him was just so different, and so alien from what he was used too. From the merchandise and food that the stall and shop owners were attempting to sell, to the people he passed by and the topics of conversation they spoke of.

Many of those he passed, mainly those with some kind of weapon or staff, regular mentioned 'going into the Dungeon', and talked about monsters they had encountered, fought and killed, and crystals they had acquired.

Hearing this, Azoth couldn't help but smile beneath his helmet's battered, Ebony visor. During his time as an Adventurer he had fought his way through many dungeons, cave systems, castles and tombs, and going off of the little ambush he had dealt with on the road just outside of the city, he had a good idea about what they were talking of when it came to monsters and crystals.

It appeared that life here was not too different to the one he had lived in Skyrim.

That said the way they spoke of the dungeon, monsters and crystals was a bit peculiar.

They spoke of the crystals like they their main source of income, with some of those he passed chatting to their companions about 'farming' the upper levels of the Dungeon, with that being Dungeon singular, so they could get some crystals and make a few 'Valis'.

Azoth by this point had guessed that 'Valis' was the currency in this place.

Shaking his head at this Azoth continued on, not caring one jot about the odd looks that were being occasionally sent his way as he strolled down the high-street in his battle scarred, blood encrusted, Ebony Armour, complete with his mangled helmet and deadly looking weapons.

By this point in his life he was used to the looks he often received, mostly awe, fear and suspicion, and now no longer bothered even reacting, and even if he was still bothered, he still probably wouldn't have cared. No, at present he was too consumed by all the new sights, sounds and smells around him to bother about anything else.

That said he did hear the occasional passer-by reference him as he walked passed them.

"Looks like he's had a rough day in the Dungeon!"

"Must have gone down to the lower levels, especially for him to be a state like that!"

"Hey I don't recognise that guy, he looks tough as hell though! Do you know what Familia he is a part of?"

"I thought the Dungeon was in the other direction?"

"Maybe he's back from a quest outside of the city!"

"Ha! I doubt it, everyone knows the monsters on the surface are much weaker than those in the Dungeon!"

Taking in these comments as he passed, Azoth slowly began to build up a picture in his head of just what was going on in this city.

The place, by the sounds of it, was based on the top of some massive dungeon, one which had many, many levels.

Due to this the city attracted a lot of warriors, mages and adventurers, probably from all over the world, some of whom formed Guilds, or parties, like 'The Companions'. After which these parties, which they apparently called Familia's, ventured into the depths of the dungeons. Probably they did this because the lower you went in the Dungeon, the more monsters there were, and the more powerful these monsters would be.

No doubt all these Adventurers made their money in a similar manner to Azoth too, by hunting down and killing strong monsters/ foes, and then looting their remains for weapons, jewels or material they could sell.

Though mainly it seemed that they harvested the monster crystals and sold them, likely to enchanters, smiths and mages who could make use of the energy contained within these monster soul gems, or use the materials from monsters or veins of ore that were in the Dungeon.

Nodding to himself at this realisation, Azoth made his decision.

Like he had initially planned, he would find a tavern and get the proper lowdown on what was going on in this city and where the entrance to this Dungeon was. After which he would start venturing down there, make himself enough money on the upper levels to afford a decent home, food and potions and what not.

Enough for him to set up a base of operations for his time in the city. Following on from which he would venture deeper and deeper into this Dungeon, as deep as possible, as by the sounds of it the further into the dungeon you go the stronger the monsters, hence the bigger and more powerful the monster soul gems, and the more valuable the materials and loot.

Yes, if he wanted to forge and enchant himself some new battle armour he might need to go very deep into the Dungeons, and honestly, a part of him was pretty excited about it too.

These monsters, they sounded fascinating. Already he could barely wait to get down there and kill a few. It was in his nature to hunt down the strongest of the strong, challenge them, and prove himself their superior. On top of which, who knows what kind of things he could make from what he harvested from them!

That was the smith in him thinking.

Grinning to himself at that, his heart beating fasting in excitement at the thought of fighting new challenges and reaping the rewards, Azoth quickly approached a nearby stall owner.

If he wanted to do any of that he needed to first find an inn so he could get some more information, it was the way you got information in Skyrim, that or you visited a Jarls court and question the steward.

"Ah, h-hello," The young girl at the store stuttered. With the girl in question, being very short, yet unusually busty despite her height, something her obscenely tight and short white and blue dress seemed to showcase. "Do you want a fried potato?"

"Erm, what?" Azoth replied bemusedly, looking away from the very attractive, dark haired, blue eyed girl, and instead to the paper box in her hand, and the fried potatoes he could see inside.

"Fried potatoes, they come with a number of different sauces depending on what you like!" The girl chirped, overcoming her nervousness, over his height and appearance, at the possibility of a sale, her odd head band, which had two long springs topped with what looked like miniature, fake potatoes, bouncing about as she did so.

"No, sorry I am not really looking to eat at the moment," Azoth replied, pushing down his hunger, and the gurgle of desire he could feel building up in stomach at the thought of some food. It had been a couple of days now, if not longer, since he had last had a good meal. But no, no he had something he had to do first, and once that was done, then he would eat. "I'm actually just wondering whether you know of any good taverns nearby?"

"Oh, so you're not about to buy something…" The girl replied, a put out look on her face. The look however only lasted for a moment though, before she perked up. "Well never mind, I can think of a few taverns nearby. Though I am surprised you don't know of any, I mean you look like a pretty tough Adventurer, surely you've been to a few in your time?"

"I'm actually new here, only arrived today." Azoth replied with a slight chuckle, the girl had a good attitude, and seemed the helpful sort, he could appreciate that. "That's why I am looking for a tavern, in my experience it's where you pick up all the juiciest gossip and titbits!"

"Wait your new to the city, really!?" The girl suddenly beamed, with her practically bouncing up and down with excitement now, her chest noticeably moving up and down in response as she did so. "Does that mean you don't have a Familia?"

As she said this the girl's eyes trailed over his expensive, yet battered looking armour, and his powerful, yet well-used looking weapons.

No doubt she could see he was not some inexperienced fledgling Adventurer, maybe she could even feel the power of his magic weapons and enchanted armour.

"No, I've not joined up with one yet." Azoth shrugged, not too bothered about sharing that. It wasn't like he needed a party to get by after all. He had done fine thus far by himself, and he had probably fought against foes that would make most of the warrior and mages in this city quail with fear.

So no, he wasn't too concerned about venturing into this Dungeon by himself. Normally, and at most, it was just him by himself on his adventures, though occasionally he did bring a supporter along for the ride. With it often times being that sarcastic pain in the arse, Lydia, after all 'she was sworn to carry his burdens'.

Bloody Lydia, always getting in the way and making snippy comments!

Still she got the job done, and was tolerable enough company, most of the time.

"Wait you've not, t-then, would you like to join my Familia?" The girl asked, her voice once again going nervous as she looked up at him, hope shining in her bright blue eyes.

"You have a Familia?" Azoth asked in surprise.

This girl didn't look like a fighter. She looked too soft, and too naive. The warrior women he knew held themselves like fighters, and they walked and talked like veteran warriors. This girl, harsh though it might seem, did not give off that effect. She seemed pleasant, yes, but just a bit weak…

"Well of course I do, I am the Goddess Hestia after all!" The now named Hestia replied proudly and confidently, her hands on her hips as she looked up at Azoth, a mixture of hope and pride on her face as she gazed at his battled scarred helmet, and barely visible violet eyes.

Azoth, in response couldn't help but smile in bemusement at the girl's words.

Fortunately though his smile could not be seen, and so the girl wouldn't be able to see his amusement at her comment. She seemed a nice kid, but even so for this human girl to call herself the 'Goddess' Hestia, it was pretty damn presumptuous.

Not even the most arrogant of bandit warlords, archmages, generals or emperors had called themselves that. The Aedra and Daedra that Azoth knew of would have not allow for such an insult after all, in fact he suspected that any being that did dare to make such a claim would not have a very long life expectancy.

That said, maybe the gods of this world, and yes by now he had realised that this was not Mundus or any of the realms of Oblivion, were a bit easier going and thus allowed such blasphemy.

But even so, it was a pretty arrogant thing to call oneself, and one he honestly didn't expect from this seemingly nice and pleasant girl.

"So how would you like to join?" Hestia continued brightly, her eyes still shining with hope.

"Well, erm, Hestia," Azoth began, he refused to call her 'Goddess Hestia', he didn't want to encourage her ego after all. "Thanks for the offer, and I will definitely think about it!" He wouldn't. "But for now I am just hoping to find a tavern so I can get the lay of the land so to speak!"

"Oh, ok…" Hestia replied, visibly wilting in resigned disappointment as she did so. It looked like the girl had expected such an answer, but despite that, had still allowed herself to hope. It kind of made him feel a little guilty. "Well that's fine, as long as you keep my offer in mind!"

"Absolutely." Azoth nodded kindly, before shuffling awkwardly. "So about the tavern?"

"Oh, yeah, right, there is one just down the street from here about a five minute walk, you can't miss it. It's called the Hostess of Fertility." Hestia said with a nod, gesturing down the high-street, in the direction he had previously been walking.

"Thanks." Azoth nodded, reaching into the pouch at his side and pulling out a single gold coin as he did so, after which he handed it to the slightly downtrodden girl, catching her completely by surprise. "I appreciate your help."

"Oh, err, it was no problem at all!" Hestia chirped, her large blue eyes blinking in surprise as she stared at the large, gold coin in her hand. Thankfully she had the good grace not to bite it to test that it was real. "You didn't need to pay me or anything, I was happy to help."

"Still, take it as a thank you from me for being so helpful." Azoth replied kindly, waving her words away. She was a nice, if slightly egotistical girl, the Goddess Hestia indeed, and she had helped him when she didn't need to, he wouldn't begrudge giving her a gold coin for her time.

"Well thanks then!" Hestia beamed up at him.

Azoth nodded in response, even as he turned around and began heading in the direction she had pointed. The hustling, bustling crowd around him moving out of the way as his large, armoured mass strode through them.

"Remember my offer too!" Hestia called out after him as he quickly head down the street, giving a backwards wave as he did so.

**( - ) **

**(A few minutes later)**

A few minutes later found Azoth, still in full armour, entering the tavern that Hestia had pointed out to him.

The Hostess of Fertility, it was a large, homely looking place which was filled with plenty of wooden chairs and tables, with a large bar against one side of the room, behind which Azoth could see a number of girls in green dresses and white aprons, a uniform of some kind, bustling about.

The moment Azoth entered the bar his violet eyes surveying the dozen or so patrons already inside, most of whom were sitting around in small groups around the sides of the room. Before he could take more than a step into the tavern however, a loud, stern voice called out to him, catching his attention.

"No helmets, hoods or masks in the bar!" The strong, female voice rang out abruptly, catching Azoth's attention as he looked to the bar and saw a stocky, middle aged woman, with a kindly face and long, brown hair, which was tied up into a pony tail, looking at him sternly.

"Right, right, I hear you." Azoth nodded, approaching the bar as he did so, even as he started to unbuckle his helmet. With him placing the damaged helmet on the top of the bar, moments before he sat down heavily on one of the empty stools that were lined up along the bar.

"Sorry about that, I should have thought." Azoth chuckled, messing up his already messy white hair to get rid of his helmet hair, even as he let out a sigh of relief as his long, pointed ears were open to the air once more. Helmets were incredibly useful in his line of work, but they sure as hell could be stifling sometimes.

"No harm done," The woman huffed good-naturedly, eyeing him as she did so, no doubt taking in his angular, elven features, the scar which crossed his face, and his snow white hair and violet eyes, grabbing a wooden tankard from under the bar as she did so. "Drink?"

"An ale if you serve it?" Azoth replied, hoping beyond hope that they served something like the ale of his homeland, Skyrim, even as he shifted on his stool to make himself comfortable.

"Aye, we've got it, if you've got the coin that is?" The woman replied bluntly, eyeing up his ragged appearance, yet expensive equipment, shrewdly.

Pulling his pouch of gold off of his belt, and pulling out a gold coin, Azoth slid the coin across the bar surface. "I am new to Orario, not changed my coin to the local currency yet, do you take gold though?"

"As long as it's real." The woman nodded, picking the coin up and giving it the bite test as she did so, before nodding approvingly.

"Then I'll have an ale, and some food, something heavy, with lots of meat, some vegetables, bread and gravy." Azoth nodded, opening his pouch as he did so to show that he had a lot more gold where that came from.

"I like your style." The woman nodded, her lips curling upwards in amusement, even as she called out an order to a nearby serving girl, a pretty, greyed haired, grey eyed human girl, and then filled up a tankard of ale for him. "The names Mia, Mia Grand, what about you stranger?"

"Azoth," Azoth replied with a nod, taking the ale from Mia with a grin and having a sip as he did so. It was pretty damn good. "It's good!"

"Well of course it is, I brewed it!" Mia replied with a hearty grin and bark of laughter. "So a newcomer to Orario then? You don't look like some newbie, in fact you look like you've been through the wars!"

"It's funny you should say that," Azoth replied with a chuckle, thinking on the civil war he had been embroiled in as he did so. "I was involved in a pretty brutal war not that long ago, but that was a few years ago now. Mostly I am an Adventurer, and not a soldier."

"Aye, I can see that. That must have once been a pretty decent set of armour, and are those some magic weapons I see too?" Mia nodded, looking him up and down again as she did so, taking in his wrecked armour, and the battle-axe on his back and sheathed sword on his hip. Her sharp eyes gleaming, and holding the look of an experienced warrior as she did so. "What Familia were you in, I might have heard of it?"

"They were yeah, and Familia, it depends on what you mean by Familia?" Azoth replied, his brow furrowing in confusion, making the straight scar that went across his cheeks and nose crinkle up as he did so.

"What do you think I mean by Familia, the god who gave you their Falna, their Blessing?" Mia asked, her own brow furrowing as she sent the elf an odd look.

"Oh, okay, so that's what you mean." Azoth muttered, pushing aside his surprise that these Familia that every seemed to be a part of, were actually groups of warriors and mages who had been blessed by gods. It also, much to his guilt, made him realise that perhaps that Hestia girl hadn't been being arrogant.

Then again, he found it hard to believe that that little girl was a god. Not when he compared that chirpy, distinctly human looking girl, to the Daedric Princes he had met.

Still it seemed he needed more information now, especially if there were gods giving out their Blessings willy-nilly, and said same people, Adventurers, were wandering around in gangs they called Familia.

"You didn't know what Familia were?" Mia asked, a look of disbelief on her face.

Taking another sip of his ale to give himself time to think, Azoth shook his head. He was a pretty canny guy, and as such he knew he shouldn't reveal his ignorance of the commonplace things in this world, or that he was a stranger here. With gods apparently interacting with mortals on a regular basis, who knew what kind of trouble the suspicion over his ignorance would bring him.

"As I said I am new to Orario, and not really from here." Azoth began carefully, his mind a whirl as he began to pull on half-truths. "Familia is not a term I am, well familiar, with. I did have a Divine Being, Meridia, as my patron though. She gave me her Blessing, and this sword." Azoth patted Dawnbreaker fondly as he said that. "But I was the only one that she Blessed or the only one that I know of, and she didn't call me her 'Familia', but instead her Champion."

"Ah," Mia nodded, taking his empty tankard and absentmindedly refilling it as she did so. Noticeably a number of the waitresses had gathered about too in the current lull in business, one of them the grey haired human from before, with the others being two cat people, another blonde human, and the last, an attractive, green haired elf. She, the elf that is, certainly caught his eye. "Explains the gold and the fact I've never seen you before, I suppose. So Meridia eh, can't say I've ever heard of her, sounds eccentric though?"

Azoth's lips quirked upwards in a smile at her implied question. "She was certainly that. If I were to be honest, I would say she was cold, callous at times, blunt and above obsessive. But she meant well, and she certainly helped me out, or at least she did when I was doing what she wanted me to do."

"Definitely sounds like a god." Mia said dryly.

"I'm guessing there are a lot here then?" Azoth queried.

"This is the Dungeon City, Orario, the centre of the world and the home of the Dungeon. Most of the gods that descended from heaven to live among the mortals reside here, and most of them have Familia!" Mia laughed, shaking her head in amusement at him. "Your goddess must not have done much explaining."

"Clearly not." Azoth chuckled.

"Well then like I said, the city is filled with gods and their Familia, all of which do numerous different things from farming to exploring the lowest levels of the dungeon." Mia shrugged, after which she gave him a rundown on the specifics of Orario and the way things worked here.

A few minutes later, after her brief explanation, and whilst she was pouring him another tankard, Mia spoke once again. "So what are you doing here then, has your goddess decided to move to the city?"

By the sounds of it Mia was quite interested in his answer, and he wasn't surprised, from what he had heard the arrival of another goddess and her 'Familia' might have a significant impact on the already delicate balance of power here in Orario.

"No," Azoth quickly shook his head a few moments later, thinking on how he had completely lost his connection to Meridia as he did so. "She's gone, my connection to her has been broken and she is up in the heavens no doubt doing whatever she wants. I meanwhile, well I have to make my own way. Hence why I am here."

The waitresses behind Mia all looked sad at that. The brown haired woman however just looked nonchalant. "That's just the way of gods I'm afraid, their all flaky, flighty beings."

"You're telling me." Azoth chuckled, he had had his fair share of meeting Divine Beings before, and personally he would have added in insane, capricious, evil and deadly too, but apparently the gods here were very different to the Divine Beings he was used too.

"So what's the plan then, you're new to the city, but you must have come here for a reason right?" Mia asked abruptly.

"Well I suppose you could say that the main plan is to head down to the Dungeon." Azoth nodded, idly scratching his chin as he did so. "First things first though I'll need to find the entrance."

"Afraid not kid. Since you're new to the city the first thing you'll need to do is join a Familia that is if you want to go down to the dungeon, and then register with the Guild. They're pretty prickly about that, they won't allow anyone without a Falna, and who is not a Familia, into the Dungeon. They don't want some stupid kids, or idiots wanting to play tourist, to get themselves killed down there. It's why they have the policy, it is their insurance so they can avoid any backlash from something bad happening down there." Mia cut in, an amused smile on her face as she saw the Snow Elf's expression.

"Well that's annoying." Azoth frowned, he had been hoping to head down there straight away and start making money and gathering materials and large monster soul gems to forge some new armour.

"You'll be fine, you're clearly not a newbie, and you have gold and magic weapons, most Familia would be happy to let you in, you just need to apply." Mia waved him away, only for her to suddenly smirk. "The most annoying thing for you is that they will insist that you have a Guild Advisor, it is also a part of their policy that newcomers to the Dungeon all have them for at least a couple of weeks, even if you aren't starting off as a Level One."

Pushing aside his confusion about what Mia meant by Level One, he was sure he could work that out later.

Azoth instead just frowned at the inconvenience. That said, as he thought about it, he could see the potential advantages in having a Familia. You would have some backup if you need it, a place to stay and a group to go into the dungeon with if necessary. If he joined a suitable one he could even get a fast track down to the lowest levels.

On top of which, from what Mia had said before, to have a comfortable life in the city, and to cash in gems, enter and use the Dungeons and the facilities in the Tower of Babel, the massive tower in the centre of the city, you needed to be a member of a Familia.

Being a member of a Familia was a necessity in this place.

"Fair enough," Azoth nodded after a few moments of thought, finishing another tankard of ale as he did so. The ale here was pretty great. "Do you have any you would recommend?"

"Depends what you want to do?" Mia shot back, taking his tankard without him asking and filling it up for him again.

"I want to head down to the deeper levels in the Dungeon, I need to pick up some materials and monster stones so I can sort myself out some new armour." Azoth shrugged, seeing no point in hiding his intentions, it wasn't like they would harm anyone. Except Alduin of course, but that was probably going to be much, much further down the line.

"Oh, so you want to get money fast and some new armour. In that case I would suggest either the Freya or Loki Familia, they are the two strongest ones in Orario and exploration Familia's that regularly go on expeditions to the lowest depths of the Dungeons, every time attempting to get lower and lower." Mia nodded, her keen eyes flicking over his armour, her gaze intense as if she were imagining what it must have looked like when it was still in perfect condition. "If I had to guess, for a set like the one you're wearing, well it would probably set you back upwards of one hundred and fifty million Valis. So yeah Freya or Loki would be your best bet!"

Behind Mia, the two human waitresses and the two cat people ones all let out several eeps at the amount of money Mia had just stated, all of them staring at the ragged Snow Elf in shock.

Turns out he was walking around wearing a veritable fortune.

After a few moments, Azoth however shrugged the money off, he didn't know how much it meant when compared to Skyrim gold, but it sounded like a lot. That said considering he would be the one crafting it, it really didn't bother him.

"I doubt it'll be that much. I am just heading down there to get some materials and monster gems so that I can forge myself a new set of armour, just like I forged this one!" Azoth replied, a grin on his face.

He might be a renowned warrior, but it was his Enchanting and Smithing that he really took pride in, Eorlund Graymane had nothing on him!

Mia blinked in surprise at that, but only for a moment before she smirked. "Well if that really is the case I don't think either the Loki Familia or the Freya Familia will suit you after all. The Hephaestus Familia however, that one would suit you to a tee."

"Oh?" Azoth queried.

"Yeah, they're a Familia that revolve around smithing and are led by the Goddess of Smiths herself, Hephaestus. They also regular join the Freya and Loki Familia on their expeditions down to the lower levels, acting as support and repairing weapons, in return for a share of the profits and access to high quality materials." Mia rattled off, her gaze following the grey haired girl as she suddenly emerged from the kitchen with a large platter of food, which she then placed in front of Azoth with a coy smile and slightly pink cheeks.

Smiling and nodding at the girl in thanks, Azoth then turned back to Mia. What she had just described sounded perfect for him. He would have access to a forge, and be able to join other Familia on expeditions to the lowest levels of the Dungeon where he could harvest monsters for their parts, potentially mine ore, and get himself plenty of powerful monster soul gems. It was ideal.

"Sounds good to me, how would I go about joining this Hephaestus Familia?" Azoth asked curiously, ignoring his food for now as he instead focused on the stocky, friendly, older woman in front of him, even as some of the other waitresses, those that had previously been listening in, began to disperse as more and more people started entering the tavern.

It appeared that they would soon be entering the tavern's early evening rush-hour, no doubt a lot of these people were Adventurers fresh from the Dungeon, or trades people that had just closed up their stalls for the day. No doubt the tavern would rapidly get busier, and busier, as the evening closed in and more of these types ventured out for food, drink and good company.

"Get back to work girls!" Mia called out, filling up Azoth's tankard one last time as she did so. No doubt his bill at the end of the night would be pretty hefty. "As for Lady Hephaestus, she can usually be found in her workshop in the Tower of Babel, the fourth floor. Head to the tower tomorrow and ask to see her, they'll let you in if they know you want to join a Familia, and bring along a piece you made yourself as an example of your skill when you do so, and then I'm sure she'll happily let you into her Familia."

Azoth nodded at that, his left hand toying with the hilt of his Daedric Dagger as he did so. It sounded like he now had a plan in mind for tomorrow. "Sounds like a plan."

"Glad I could help," Mia nodded, a kind smile on her face for a moment, before the expression suddenly became stern again. "Now get to eating, May in the kitchen didn't slave away on that for it to go cold. You eat up and when you're ready order more!"

Azoth smiled at that, and nodded. She might be helpful and friendly, but she was also, obviously, a consummate business woman through and through.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I need to deal with the dinner rush. It's going to be hectic in here tonight, especially since Loki has already booked up two tables to celebrate her Familia returning from their most recent expedition." Mia grumbled under breath, even as she headed further along the bar to serve some newcomers.

Azoth cocked an eyebrow at that, he was kind of curious to see what a top Familia looked like.

Even as he thought that though, he felt another person move to stand in front of him.

Looking up as he did so, he soon found himself looking into a pair of placid, yet curious, blue eyes.

It was the green haired elf that worked here.

Azoth opening his mouth at the sight of her, however, before either of them could do more than look at one another, they were both distracted by the grey haired waitress suddenly crying out.

"Bell! You came!"

Turning slightly in his seat, Azoth watching as a short, young looking, skinny Adventurer, devoid of armour or weaponry, entered the bar, only for the grey haired waitress, Syr apparently, to usher him onto the seat next to where he was sat.

**( - )**

**AN: So Azoth has met a few named characters now, is starting to get a grip on the city, though there are still some conclusions he has jumped to that have yet to be dispelled, which I think is natural when you come across something that is similar to what you now, but also quite different. **

**I think what will especially be interesting to write is Azoth's interactions with the gods, considering his previous meetings with Daedric Princes. Plus his interactions with elves, a familiar, yet different race to his own, with different cultures and origins and traits. **

**It should be good fun, both the Elder Scrolls and Danmachi are two compatible but very different universes. **

**Thanks a lot for reading, and I hope you all continue to do so and leave a review.**

**See you later.**

**Greed720.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So I have to admit the response thus far to this story has been phenomenal, far greater than I had thought. So for that thanks a lot, I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story and leave reviews, favs and follows.**

**Other than that I hope you all enjoy the chapter, thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or Elder Scrolls.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_Even as he thought that though, he felt another person move to stand in front of him. Looking up as he did so, he soon found himself looking into a pair of placid, yet curious, blue eyes. _

_It was the green haired elf that worked here._

_Azoth opening his mouth at the sight of her, however, before either of them could do more than look at one another, they were both distracted by the grey haired waitress suddenly crying out._

_"__Bell! You came!"_

_Turning slightly in his seat, Azoth watching as a short, young looking, skinny Adventurer, devoid of armour or weaponry, entered the bar, only for the grey haired waitress, Syr apparently, to usher him onto the seat next to where he was sat._

**( - )**

**Chapter 3**

**( - )**

**(With Azoth)**

"Come in! I saved a seat at the bar for you!" Syr called out brightly, running around from behind the bar as she did so, before she then began to push the young looking, white haired Adventurer, Bell, towards where Azoth was sitting.

Glancing at the boy, Azoth honestly couldn't say he was all that impressed.

As the Nords would say, the boy looked like a milk drinker through and through; weak, the kind of fool who would either die an early death, or get an arrow in the knee one day and give up on adventuring altogether.

Bringing his wooden tankard up to his lips at that uncharitable thought, and taking a sip of the strong, hoppy liquid, Azoth couldn't help but feel a slight surge of guilt as he watched the very nervous looking teen get ushered onto the stool next to him by the gregarious, grey haired maid.

He was kind of judging the kid without even knowing him.

Everyone started somewhere after all, and Azoth had been no exception. He had been weak once, and no doubt seasoned Adventurers had looked down on him too.

Shaking his head at that thought, Azoth forced a smile on his face. There was no need to continue the cycle of dismissal and disregard, not when he could offer a kind word and a supportative comment instead. He was the Dragonborn after all, he was supposed to be a hero and a role model, not an arsehole.

In front of him, the pretty, green haired elf took his once again empty tankard and silently refilled it.

"You alright kid, had a good day in the Dungeon?" Azoth asked, sending the doll like elf a smile and a nod of thanks as he did so, only to get a curious look back, the girl's bright blue eyes not leaving him as she continued to eye him with a mixture of fascination and suspicion.

It was admittedly a bit odd, and slightly unnerving.

"Uwah, what, me?" The kid, Bell, replied nearly jumping off of his stool in shock as he realised that Azoth was addressing him.

"Who else do you think I was talk too?" Azoth replied amused, the human's reaction was somewhat funny, he kind of acted like a startled bunny.

"Oh, well sorry," Bell muttered shakily, his red eyed gaze taking in Azoth's armour and weaponry, clearly identifying him as a high level Adventurer. "But, well, no it's not gone great…"

"That's sometimes the way it is," Azoth shrugged, accepting his refilled tankard with a grateful smile to the she elf, before he took another sip and once again went back to his food. "We all have rotten days every now and then. Weapons breaks, armour fails, you make mistakes, your enemy turns out to be tougher than you expected. It happens, the mark of a true Adventurer is how you respond to things when they go bad, learn from your mistakes and better yourself!"

"R-right!" Bell nodded loudly, a startled expression his face at Azoth's words.

"Wise words," The she elf commented softly, once again attracting Azoth's attention due to the contradictory nature of her somehow both melodic and emotionless voice. "One must always be prepared for when the worst happens."

"You were an Adventurer yourself?" Azoth asked, eyeing the lithe, green haired woman up and down as he did so.

"Once upon a time, now I am just a waitress." The girl replied dryly, blinking for a moment as she did so, as if she had surprised herself in how readily she replied to him before.

"The name's Azoth," Azoth said for both the green haired elf and Bell's benefit, smiling and giving a half wave to both as he did so. "I'm an experienced Adventurer, but new to the city all the same."

"Ryuu Lion," The elf maid nodded calmly, her gaze roving over Azoth's youthful face, porcelain white skin and angular elven features curiously, as if she were trying to solve a puzzle.

"Erm, my name is Bell Cranel," Bell added on awkwardly, glancing between the two elves as he did so, as if unsure about whether or not he was included in the conversation. Not that that stopped him from asking a follow up question. "But erm, Mister Azoth, sir, how can you be an experienced Adventurer if you're new to Orario?"

It was a good question, Azoth had to concede, and a tricky one to answer.

Fortunately though he was saved from having to answer by Ryuu.

"There are monsters outside of Orario, Bell, those that escaped the Dungeon and bred in the traditional way." Ryuu said simply, tearing her gaze away from Azoth as she instead looked down at Bell. "Many Familia's operate outside of the city and deal with these monsters."

"O-oh," Bell nodded. "I guess that makes sense, I-I mean I knew that monster were living outside of the Dungeons, I just didn't realise that there were other Familia out there dealing with them."

"It's not just Familia outside of Orario that deal with the weaker, rogue monsters that live on the surface, the Guild here in Orario sometimes offer quests to deal with them too." Ryuu said with a nod.

"Interesting," Azoth muttered, his brow furrowed. A few Quests outside of the city might be good for earning a bit of money and getting the proper lay of this land.

Ryuu raised an eyebrow at his muttered word.

Before she could ask though, she was interrupted by the cheerful Syr returning once again. The grey haired girl practically bouncing as she finished delivering some food to one of the tables and came back to speak to her 'friend?' Bell?

"I wasn't sure if you would come tonight," Syr voiced through a fit of giggles, taking a seat on the other side of Bell, capturing his attention as she did so. Which Azoth took as a sign to go back to finishing his meal, whilst Ryuu was called away by Mama Mia telling her to start dishing out beer to some of the most recent newcomers. "I'm so happy you accepted my invitation!"

"W-well," The white haired boy muttered, visibly nervous as he edged away from the pretty, exuberant girl, reaching behind his back as he did so, after which he grabbed a wrapped up box which had previously been attached to his belt. "I had to return this, so…"

"Oh of course, my lunch box!" Syr smiled brightly, clapping her hands together with delight. "Thank you for returning it. I hope you enjoyed the food! I-I made it myself," noticeably her cheeks went a little pink as she accept the box off of him.

"I-It was brilliant. Thank you." The red faced Bell muttered back.

Azoth, from where he was sitting couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter, nearly spilling his ale as he washed down the last of his food.

Immediately the two teens turned to look at him. Bell looking distinctly embarrassed, whilst Syr looked faintly irritated.

"Sorry," Azoth chuckled, wiping some foam from around his mouth and pushing his empty plate across the bar so that one of the cat like serving girls could take it, a coy smile on her face as she eyed him up. "It's just amusing to see young love again, it reminds me of when I was your age, and fumbling around with courting a woman for the first time."

Almost immediately both Syr and Bell went bright red, the white haired Adventurer stuttering out denials, even as the grey haired maid suddenly found her services needed elsewhere. With her only sticking around long enough to call for Ryuu to come over and take Bell's food and drinks orders.

"Was it something I said?" Azoth asked the green haired elf as she came over to where he was sat.

"I don't believe they have defined the terms of their relationship, or even known each other long enough to be even close to forming one." Ryuu commented lightly, her blue eyes moving from the still pink cheeked Syr, who was at that moment serving a short, bearded man on the other side of the bar, to the still red faced and stuttering Bell.

"Oh I had thought otherwise. Maybe it's just cultural differences. Back in my homeland, in the far north, life is tough and often times short. The humans, and some of the other races, up there don't bother with prolonged courtship. If you like a person and feel desire for them, then you express it. If they reciprocate you couple up until one or other of you either die or grow bored." Azoth shrugged, scratching his chin idly as he pondered over the cultural differences between the hard, cold, tough lands of Skyrim, and the Dungeon City of Orario.

Turns out there might be a lot.

"W-what!?" Bell squeaked, his face so red now that Azoth thought he was about to pass out.

"That is a simplistic and rather blunt way of viewing something as delicate and meaningful as a relationship." Ryuu commented mildly, her blue eyes studying Azoth curiously. "From where do you come Mister Azoth?"

"The far north, a country of ice, snow and monsters." Azoth replied with a shrug, not too offended by her words. "As I said it is a rough place to grow up, cold, cruel and inhospitable, and as such those who grow up there have had to adapt and evolve to survive. What about you Ryuu, where does such a beautiful and enchanting elf such as yourself come from?"

"I came from Ryumilua Forest in the west, but it has been many year since last I walked through the ancient trees of my homeland." Ryuu said, the slightest hint of sadness entering her voice as she did so, but only for a moment before her gaze sharpened. "As for your compliments, please do keep them to yourself Mister Azoth. You do not know me, and I am not one of your kin, and thus do not follow your crude courtship customs."

"Ouch," Azoth replied mildly, his violet eyes twinkling, despite the rejection. "Still not unexpected, I apologise if I offended you."

"You need not apologise, for you have not caused me any offense." Ryuu shot back, her lips curving upwards into a smile for the slightest of instances.

"I'm glad." Azoth nodded, meeting Ryuu's intense blue eyes with his own violet ones.

Before anymore could be said, a sudden gurgling noise interrupted the moment. The sound causing both elves to turn and look at the source, only to see that it was the red faced Bell, with the sound having been his gurgling, rumbling stomach.

"Oh, Mister Cranel, forgive me, I forgot to take your order." Ryuu said suddenly, tearing her eyes away from the other elf as she instead gave a bow of apology to the stuttering, red faced boy and quickly took his food and drinks order. After which she retreated to the kitchen to tell the cooks.

"You're not particularly good with women are you kid," Azoth said blandly, watching the still stuttering, pink faced, boy with a bemused expression. Seriously had this kid never even met or spoken to a member of the opposite sex before? What kind of upbringing did he have?

Bell, if possible, just flushed an even deeper shade of red at Azoth's blunt comments. Fortunately though he was saved from replying, by the now recovered Syr, who chose that moment to come over, noticeably sending Azoth the stink eye as she set a new tankard of ale in front of the Snow Elf.

Apparently he didn't need to even ask anymore. No doubt Mia had given standing order for his tankard to be refilled whenever it was empty. Which was good in the way that the ale here was delicious, and bad, because even with his Dragonborn and Werewolf, the perks of being in the Companion's inner circle, constitution, he was beginning to get drunk. That and it would probably hit his finances hard.

"Have you started behaving?" Syr asked Azoth, her grey eyes narrowed as saw him grin in response to her pointed, rhetorical question, after which she turned to Bell, her cheeks going pink as she gave him a bright smile. "Do let me know if he continues to run his mouth, Bell, if he does I'll set Mama Mia on him!"

With that said she then disappeared into the back room, leaving Bell alone with the amused Azoth, the white haired boy clearly completely confused now.

This was probably not how he had expected his night out at the tavern to go.

"Like really, I make a single innocent comment and the girl gets all snippy." Azoth muttered, taking a sip of his ale as he did so.

"Oh, so is that why little Syr was all out of sorts, you were causing trouble?" Mama Mia spoke up jovially, the grinning woman laughing loudly as she sidled over and put a large plate of some kind of fish dish in front of Bell.

"Apparently so…" Azoth shrugged dryly.

Mia let out another laugh at that, her brown eyes twinkling at Azoth, before she looked down at Bell. "So you're the kid, Syr, mentioned before? It seems she has taken quite a liking to you!" With that said she gave the nervous kid a broad smile that was both warm and welcoming. "The name's Mia Grand, but everyone calls me Mama Mia. I'm the owner of this fine establishment!"

"I-I am Bell Cranel. Syr helped me out this morning, so I'm here to, um…" Bell muttered sheepishly.

"Pleasure to meet you Bell," Mia interrupted cheerfully, her smile brightening as Ryuu came along with two other large dishes in her hands. "Now eat up, I've added an extra bowl of pasta on the house! We need to get you beefed up if you're to be going into the Dungeons! The last thing I want is for Syr's new friend to get himself killed down there!"

"O-oh, er thanks!" Bell replied, blinking in shock at the sheer size of the mound of food in front of him, even as he dutifully began to eat up.

"And you, little elf!" Mia said turning to look at Azoth again as she did so, the grin on her face taking any real heat from her words. "I've decided that you can buy another order of the pie to make up for bothering poor Ryuu with your perverted attentions and embarrassing innocent Syr!"

"Wait what?" Azoth replied, blinking with surprise as Mia slammed the large plate of food down in front of him. His eyes flicking up to look at the green haired elf, who just shrugged to show she had no idea what was happening, after which he caught the wicked smile on Syr's face.

Oh, so this was the girl's revenge for embarrassing her.

That was fair enough, he might not have done it on purpose, but still, he had embarrassed her.

Besides if this was the extent of her revenge then he would take it good naturedly.

"You heard me!" Mia smirked.

With that said Azoth rolled his eyes and started eating without complaint. The food was good, and admittedly he was still kind of hungry.

"Now tell me because I'm curious and didn't ask properly before," Mia continued, leaning against the bar, both Syr and Ryuu noticeably lingering nearby, even as they continued to serve the other customers. The number of new clientele having noticeably diminished over the last half an hour or so. "Just what have you been up to wreck your armour like that?"

Azoth cocked his head to one side at the question, finishing a mouthful of food as he pondered over what to say.

"I took on an opponent I thought I was ready for. Turned out I wasn't, and the bastard tore me a new one for my impudence. Were it not for my armour and equipment being as good as it is, well I would probably be dead right now!" Azoth finally said, thinking back on that final battle in Sovngarde with Alduin.

"Ahh, so you bit of more than you could chew." Mia stated sagely.

"Aye, for three days and two nights we fought, man against beast! But in the end that damned dragon got the best of me." Azoth grunted, and honestly it really did hurt his pride to admit such a thing, that he, the ultimate dragon slayer, had not been able to slay a dragon.

"A dragon eh?" Mia asked, leaning in with more interest now, an odd look in her eyes as she looked over the horrific rents and gouges in his all but ruined armour.

"Yes, one as black as night, with a wingspan that could cover an entire town in shadow, and spikes and horns as sharp as the most deadly of blades, and teeth that are longer and sharper than the most powerful of swords. A monster of incredible power and unimaginable rage and fury." Azoth muttered, his tone unconsciously becoming colder, more furious and more intense as he thought back on his destined foe.

Not noticing as he did so how the four people listening in had all leaned closer and were hanging on his every word, their gazes filled with fascination.

Ignoring the looks, Azoth pulled his double bladed battle-axe, Wuuthrad, from his back. Power and fury coursing through the ancient, enchanted weapon and up his hands and into his as he studied the intricate, carvings, and screaming faces on the axe's blade, one of his fingers absently trailing over the dried golden blood, Alduin's blood, which was still encrusted on one of the edges.

Unknown to Azoth, Ryuu, flinched at the sight of the axe. Her heart skipping a beat as her natural affinity to magic picked up the incredibly powerful enchantments on the axe, as well as the hatred and fury emanating off of it, a hatred and fury which to her senses felt personal.

Just from a single glance the elf maiden could tell that this axe had taken the lives of thousands, if not tens of thousands. But more than that there was a malevolence surrounding the axe, a bloodthirsty rage that made her heart tighten, her gut clenched and her skin crawl.

"A one-eyed black dragon, that is who I faced, and that is who I failed to kill." Azoth muttered to himself, his violet eyes hard and cold as his finger still traced the encrusted blood on the axe. "But I gave as good as I got, and landed more than a few blows on that monster, enough to spill its blood!"

At those words there was a sharp intake of breath from all four of the listeners, all of them looking at Azoth in shock as they registered just who he was talking about.

"You fought the One-Eyed Black Dragon and lived?" Syr asked in awe, not doubting his words for a second, as there was no way anyone was a good enough actor to fake the fury and emotion Azoth had just shown.

"You've heard of him?" Azoth asked sharply, looking up at Syr, before he then turned to Mia, his eyes widening as he saw the pale look on her usually ruddy face. Her eyes unerringly fixed on his axe.

"It's the last of the Three Great Beasts, everyone has heard of it!" Ryuu said sharply, her eyes not on the 'cursed' blade, but on Azoth's face. "For over a thousand years that monster has plagued the lands. Thousands of Adventurers have fallen to its fury, and entire towns have disappeared over night at its passing. Not even the combined might of the Zeus and Hera Familia's, the most powerful Familia's of all time, were able to defeat it!"

"A thousand years…" Azoth muttered, his eyes narrowing. Was this the same beast he had fought, or just a coincidence?

"I had heard," Mia suddenly said, her voice tense and much quieter than normal as she leaned over the bar to speak to Azoth. "I had heard the rumour that the One-Eyed Black Dragon had the golden blood of the gods. But to truly see it!" Her eyes snapped up to Azoth as she said this. "And you say you fought it and survived?"

"If we are talking of the same dragon then yes." Azoth nodded slowly, a frown on his face as he took in their reactions, noticing as he did how Bell had frozen, his jaw slack and his fork hanging in the air halfway to his mouth. "The one I fought, well the people of my land knew him as Alduin, the World Eater."

Mia let out a hiss at that, her hand gripping the wooden bar's table top hard enough to crack it. "Don't say that name out loud! It's bad luck!"

Azoth blinked in surprise at that, looking to Ryuu for an answer as he did so.

"When the dragon first arrived, over a thousand years ago, it caused so much death and carnage that gods and mortals alike don't speak its name. To do so is considered bad luck, a curse, as it is feared that by just speaking its true name you would summon it to you." Ryuu said calmly, her gaze and expression back to being placid now.

"Ryuu's right, we don't speak its name, and instead just call it the One-Eyed Black Dragon. In fact that has been the tradition for so long, that only the gods that have been here for the longest, and their most trusted Familia members, remember or know its name." Mia muttered, her hard gaze surveying both Bell and Syr, the look in her eyes obvious.

They were to tell no one of the beast's true name, nor were either of them to mention what they had heard here today.

Azoth nodded at that, not at their fear of the World Eater's name though, but instead at the confirmation that the two dragons were one and the same. Alduin was here and still alive, and apparently he had been in this world for over a thousand years. Perhaps a side-effect, a peculiarity, of the way they had been transported here.

"Do you know where he is?" Azoth suddenly asked, looking at both Mia and Ryuu, the two women that, by this point, he knew were experienced Adventurers, after all Mia had said so herself, only those in old and powerful Familia's knew the details surrounding Alduin and his presence in this world, and his deeds.

"I don't know, I've not heard of anyone seeing the beast, not since it decimated the Zeus and Hera Familia fifteen years ago." Mia shook her head, calming down significantly now, though she still kept a curious, cautious eye on Azoth. "By the sounds of it, you're the last one to have seen it, so surely you should know?"

"That's the thing, I don't know." Azoth muttered irritably, putting his axe away now as he instead drummed his fingers on the bar. "At the end of our fight he hurled me away, and then I just woke up here, just a few hours outside of the city, alone, and battered, but alive."

Mia and Ryuu frowned in confusion at that. Bell and Syr meanwhile just exchanged a glance, it seems both of them knew that they were out of their depth in this conversation.

"Then it seems you are at an impasse." Ryuu said simply.

"Yes," Azoth nodded, pausing his drumming now as he instead looked up at the green haired elf. "But all is not lost, I'll forge myself some new armour, hone my skills, and get more powerful. After that I will track the overgrown lizard down again and finish it off once and for all!"

"Ha!" Mia laughed, the loudness of her voice startling all four of them, after all previously they had all been whispering. "You don't half aim high do you elf?!"

"It's in my nature," Azoth shrugged absently. "I am a born dragon slayer."

Mia's lips twitched upwards in amusement at that. "I like you kid, you're crazy, and clearly have a death wish. But I like you all the same!"

"Erm thanks, I think…" Azoth replied dryly.

In response Mia shook her head. "Follow your dreams kid, but try not to get killed. The world would be a much more boring place without you." She then nodded, turning away to get back to work as she did so, however before she left she paused long enough to say something else. "As for your issue with the dragon. Share with the Guild and your goddess what you know when you join a Familia, they should be able to help you. Other than that though, try to keep it to yourself. That dragon is a touchy subject, and shouldn't be bandied about thoughtlessly."

Azoth paused as he heard her advice, but still nodded all the same, her words made sense.

"The same goes for the rest of you, especially you Syr and Bell, it would be best if you forget, or don't think about, what you learned here tonight." Mia added on, her eyes flicking over to the two teens now, her gaze as intense as it had been before.

In response both Bell and Syr nodded, both of them sending Azoth partly cautious, partly curious looks as they did so.

Ignoring these looks, Azoth instead downed his tankard of ale and handed it to Ryuu to get it refilled, aware as he did so, that the green haired elf was watching him closer than ever, an inscrutable expression on her face.

This girl would be damned good at poker.

"The group reservation has arrived, nya!" One of the cat girl waitresses suddenly called out loudly, distracting Azoth from his musings as Ryuu put another full tankard in front of the tipsy Snow Elf. With him, as well as the rest of the tavern quieting down and turning towards the door at the girl's words.

As he did so, he saw several unfamiliar people walk into the room, each of them carrying themselves proudly, even as the entire tavern turned to watch them.

Shifting fully around on his stool so he could get a proper look at them them, his tankard in hand, Azoth's violet eyes flicked back and forth, surveying the members of the vaunted Loki Familia as they entered the tavern on mass.

The first of them was a striking, and beautiful, green haired elf, she Azoth certainly noticed. The next was a short, blond child, or at least a man that looked like a child. After which there was then a grey haired young man that had the scent of a wolf about him, after which a short, stocky, brown haired man followed along.

After him walked a skinny, red haired woman, who toddled along casually behind the others, wearing obscenely tight and short clothing. With two, tanned and admittedly attractive dark haired humans walking along behind her, both of whom were just as obscenely dressed. With another striking, blonde haired, golden eyed human and a long, brown haired elf maiden following after the rest.

All of these people were members of the Loki Familia, one of the most powerful Familia's in the world.

And honestly, Azoth wasn't impressed.

It might be the drink talking, or the fact that they all, or at least most of them, seemed so young and cocksure, but they didn't look like powerful, experienced Adventurers to him.

Sure there were some exceptions, the short, stocky man and the green haired elf, they had an air of power, age and skill about them. As too did the blonde child, surprisingly.

The others though, they just looked like kids playing at Adventurers, powerful kids sure, but kids all the same. They didn't look hardened and weary, nor did they walk like people who had faced down certain death, and not only come out of it alive, but come out of it stronger than they had been before.

Again it might be uncharitable, and judgemental, it was one of his flaws, and he would certainly blame the drink, but he just wasn't impressed.

Still, regardless of his opinion, the Loki Familia had, in recent years, according to Mia, become one of the undisputed top Familia's in the world. The growth of their top members, most of whom were apparently quite young, had been much faster than most other Adventurers. So much so that many of their top executives were called prodigies.

Mia had even suggested that he join either the Loki Familia, or their equal, the Freya Familia, or at least she had before he had made his interest in Smithing known, and considering what he knew of, and had seen of, Mia thus far, he was inclined to take her at her word.

Drinking more ale as he watched the group, Azoth didn't miss how the white haired kid, who was still beside him, cheeks suddenly went bright red as he saw the young looking blonde haired human, like seriously she couldn't be more than sixteen.

Then again that was how old Azoth had been when he had started Adventuring, so who was he to judge.

Still, despite this Azoth smirked into his mug as he saw Bell's reaction. It seemed the horny little kid who couldn't even talk to a woman without stuttering, fancied the blonde swordwoman.

It was cute.

Not that he would say anything about it, he didn't want to embarrass the kid any more than he already had after all, or at least not yet. Nor did he want to upset that Syr girl. The last thing he wanted was for Mia to ban him from her rather delightful establishment for upsetting her waitresses.

"So those are the top Adventurers of the Loki Familia." Azoth muttered, leaning back on his stool as eyed the large group of rowdy Adventurers, even as more and more of them streamed into the tavern, the group quickly taking over the two largest, circular tables in the centre of the tavern, with some of them spreading out over the rest of the busy tavern, as even those two tables didn't have the capacity for all of them.

"They're regulars here at the Hostess of Fertility. Their goddess loves this place." Syr explained from behind him, her voice soft as she looked between the two white haired men. "In fact, that redhead over there the one in the short shorts, she is the Goddess Loki, believe it or not."

Azoth frowned as he heard that, ignoring Bell as he asked more questions of Syr, instead he focused on the skinny, red haired woman, taking in her half closed eyes and fox like features. Again this goddess didn't give off the aura of a Divine Being, not like the ones Azoth had met before.

Then again, as Mama Mia had said, the gods had descended from the heavens and taken on the forms of mortals, sealing away their divine power, their Arcanum, as they did so. Perhaps that was the reason why the gods felt so mundane, because for all intents and purposes they were. Or at least they were as long as they didn't unseal their Arcanum.

"Alright, good work on the dungeon expedition! Today's a feast so let's get this party started! Cheers!" Loki shouted out as her Familia got comfortable, and all the waitresses, including Ryuu and Syr headed over and started serving them drinks of ale, wine and many other types of alcoholic beverages and spirits, some of which Azoth didn't even recognise.

"Cheers!" Many of the Adventurers chorused, even as they began to drink and celebrate, shouting and cheering somewhat obnoxiously, as food was brought out, and drinks were drunk, their voices quickly blending with all the other voices in the tavern as everyone else went back to what they were doing before, the atmosphere quickly returning to what it had been previously, if not a bit rowdier than before.

Save for Mama Mia and her girls, all of whom were rushing about bringing pre-ordered food and drinks to the Familia's tables.

Smiling slightly at this, Azoth downed his most recent tankard of ale and turned back to face the bar.

They might be kids, or at least most of them, but they looked like they were having fun. Honestly it reminded him of how he used to party late into the night and early morning with the warriors of Jorrvaskr after a successful quest.

It was nostalgic, and made the idea of joining one of the Familia's all the more tempting, he liked company and drinking with comrades, especially after a hard fight.

"Hey, Ais! Why don't you tell them the story of the Tomato Boy?!" A particularly rowdy voice, the one belonging to the wolf boy, suddenly sounded out over the crowd. "You know, the kid that got covered in Minotaur blood down on the fifth floor!"

From beside him, the somewhat drunk Snow Elf saw Bell tense and pale slightly.

The kid had said he had had a bad day, he was inferring here, but maybe this was a part of it.

"I mean come on, tell us the whole story! I only saw the kid running away covered in blood and screaming! I really wish I had been there to watch what happened to get the little shit that worked up!" The grey haired man shouted out with a loud bark of laughter, the pair of grey dog like ears on his head and his bushy grey tail twitching as he continued to laugh. "He was just running around, screaming. Blood was flying everywhere! I mean seriously you guys should have seen it!"

The wolf like teen laugh again at that, some of his companions, like the two tanned girls and quite a few others, joining in at the picture he paint, even Azoth felt his lips twitching upwards in spite of himself, out of context the story did sound amusing.

The green haired elf sitting next to him however just frowned in the grey haired teens direction, "Why ask Aiz to tell the story Bete, when you are doing a fine job of it yourself?" The scorn and disapproval in her voice was clear to hear.

"Hah?!" The now named, and clearly drunk, Bete, laughed, looking over to the pretty blonde human, Aiz, as he did so. "Aiz was there and she knows more about it than I do, I just turned up at the end! So come on Aiz spill, did he cry and scream, oh, oh did he piss himself too, you know before you saved him? It looked like he did, please tell me he did!?"

Azoth's smile faded and he frowned slightly as he heard this, and began to understand what this Bete was talking about. He was no saint, he had mocked others before, and had not always been a graceful winner. But he had never acted like this, deliberately and harshly scorning a weak, inexperienced Adventurer for not being able to deal with more than he was capable of.

It was shameful.

Looking to the side he could see the kid, Bell, looking at the floor, his hands at his side, visibly shaking. He could also see a cold look on Ryuu's face, and looks of distaste on some of the other Loki Adventurers and tavern goers faces. The expressions becoming more and more prevalent as Bete continued to cruelly and crudely rip into the younger, weaker Adventurer he spoke of for failing to fight or stand up to a monster, that, by the sounds of it, was far stronger than he could realistically defeat.

The man's mockery was verging on cruel now.

"Come on Bete, it's not that funny," One of the tanned girls finally spoke up, the one with the longer hair and bigger chest, a frown on her face as she by this point had stopped laughing. "I mean come on, the kid was just a Level One and he was against a Minotaur, he never stood chance! Besides the whole thing was our fault anyway!"

"What, so it's our fault that the kid couldn't handle a single Minotaur? Give me a break, Tione!" Bete snarled, a flash of irritation crossing his face at being called out, especially by someone who had previously been in on the joke and laughing.

"It kind of is, Minotaurs aren't supposed to be in the upper floors, you know that. If we hadn't let them run away from us, then that kid never would have gotten in trouble," The other tanned girl, the one with shorter, spikier hair and a flatter chest said.

"You too, Tiona?! You were laughing your ass off at the time, too!" Beta complained, scowling at the two tanned girls now, a put out expression on his face.

"That's because it was funny at the time, I mean the kid wasn't hurt, but was running about covered in blood, screaming. But still, it might have been funny, but that doesn't make it any less our fault, though." The now named Tiona commented with a shrug, her, 'sister maybe?', nodding along in agreement.

Bete growled at that, before he turned and looked over to the blonde haired swordswoman again, "What do you think about it, Ais? A little coward like that couldn't hope to make it as an Adventurer, you agree, right?!"

In response the blonde haired girl just tiled her head to the side, her expression and golden eyes emotionless as she just looked at Bete.

Apparently she wasn't much of a talker.

The green haired elf though, seemed to have had enough. "That's enough Bete, it was our fault those Minotaurs were down there, not the boy's. We all start somewhere Bete remember that, just because he is weak now and understandably couldn't fight a Minotaur at his current level, doesn't mean he will remain weak."

"Hn! You're giving the kid too much credit, he'll end up dead sooner or later, and good riddance too, if you're too weak, and can't keep up, then you don't belong down in the Dungeon." Bete snapped, his words holding a bit too much weight and emotion to them than Azoth expected.

Apparently he wasn't just being an arsehole, but had a personal stake in this too. Not that that excused his dickish actions.

Now, it might be the twelve or so tankards of strong ale talking, but Azoth decided it was time to say something, time to set the grey haired kid straight on how the world really worked and how he should and should not be treating and talking about his fellow Adventurers.

By which he meant that it was time to do what he loved best when he was in a tavern, in a dour mood, and drunk, it as time to challenge some idiot to a brawl!

Ignorant of Azoth's internal decision, the wolf boy continued yapping. "What, not you too Riveria? The kid is a waste of space, and would be better off giving up on being an Adventurer, you know that!"

"Azoth!" Syr suddenly called out in surprise, her grey eyes widening as the white haired Snow Elf stood up off of his stool and started walking over to the Loki Familia's table. "What are you doing? Don't cause any trouble!"

Azoth however only sent her a grin in response. He wasn't going to kill or maim anyone or anything like that. He was just going to challenge the wolf boy to a fight, kick him around a bit, and put the little yapping puppy in his place. He wasn't going to do anything too bad, right!?

**( - )**

**AN: So what do you all think? I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next one will involve Azoth's introduction to the most powerful Familia, and will also involve him leaving the pub and setting down proper roots as he searches for a Familia. Should be fun!**

**That said this chapter was important in setting things out, adding to Azoth's character and giving more context to his situation.**

**It also involved his first meeting with the canon protagonist Bell Cranel. Though that said I would like to say here and now, I have certain issues with some crossovers. Little irritations that I tend to avoid. One of which is how in quite a few stories the MC from one will train the main cast from another for no reason. That kind of annoys me, after all you don't give something without getting, and unless it is reasonably justified it tends to annoy me when the protagonist just randomly starts training others, or even worse, sharing his magic, skills or equipment with them, for no justifiable reason. **

**Honestly it is a pet peeve of mine, especially when the main cast of one is just randomly given the skill set or abilities from the other verse for no discernible, or justifiable reason. So yep just a warning I will be avoiding those cliches in this story, like I do in most of my stories.**

**That said one thing I do love in stories is a spot or romance and a good pairing, I have a soft spot for it. And Danmachi has quite a lot of strong, intelligent female leads to develop and play around with. Like seriously there are so many, and some of them are quite grounded and well written, or have the potential to be. There are some crossovers already that show this, a favorite of mine surprisingly despite my aforementioned dislikes, due to it being done properly, Heroic Myth, for one.**

**Other than that, thanks a lot for reading and I hope you all review, and continue to enjoy my story. If you have the time please do check out my other ones on my bio. If you have any questions please feel free to PM me. **

**For those interested my next update should be for my 'The Renegade' HP story. **

**Thanks a lot for reading, and I'll catch you later.**

**Greed720.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey all, so this story continues to have a good following and a lot of support, so thanks for that I really do appreciate the support! Have to say I've gotten very into Danmachi recently as I've been watching the new season for the anime, and it's been great stuff! It's also given me a lot of ideas for this story, and a lot of stuff to play around with as the story progresses.**

**I've also been re-familiarising myself with lore surrounding Snow Elfs whilst I come up with racial abilities and continue to build up Azoth's back story. Suffice to say it is sparse, but has a lot of potential.**

**That said here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it and leave a review. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or the Elder Scrolls. **

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_Ignorant of Azoth's decision, the wolf boy continued yapping. "What, not you too Riveria? The kid is a waste of space, and is better off giving up on being an Adventurer you know that!"_

_"__Azoth!" Syr suddenly called out in surprise, her grey eyes widening as the white haired Snow Elf stood up off of his stool and started walked over to the Loki Familia's table. "What are you doing? Don't cause any trouble!"_

_Azoth only sent her a grin in response, he wasn't going to kill or maim anyone or anything like that. He was just going to challenge the wolf boy to a fight, kick him around a bit, and put the little yapping puppy in his place. _

**( - )**

**Chapter 4**

**( - )**

**(The Hostess of Fertility)**

Riveria was not impressed. They, which is to say the Loki Familia, had just arrived at, and settled in at, their local tavern, the Hostess of Fertility, and were in the midst of having a nice night out in order to celebrate their return from their most recent expedition. Even if that expedition had been forced to end prematurely due to the interference of a number of previously unidentified, acid spewing, acid blooded, caterpillar monsters.

Yes, just more of the same for a group of High Class Adventurers.

Still, this night was supposed to have been a pleasant evening, a time for the Loki Familia Executives, and the expedition team, as well as their goddess, Loki, to enjoy one another's company and rejoice in the fact that they had all return from the Dungeon alive, which was quite a feat itself in all honesty.

Unfortunately though, Bete Loga, a powerful, but still young, Level Five Adventurer had decided to run his mouth. Cruelly, in her opinion, mocking an unfortunate Level One Adventurer who had had the misfortune of running into a Minotaur, on the fifth floor.

A Minotaur that was ten floors above where it should've been, which was due in part to their party dropping the ball when they had first engaged a large group of the monsters many floors further down.

Which made Bete's mockery all the more unseemly.

"What, not you too Riveria? The kid is a waste of space, and is better off giving up on being an Adventurer, you know that!" Bete grumbled, his face twisted up in irritation as he saw that the tables had turned, and the rest of their group were no longer laughing.

Bete was not a bad person, in fact he had a good, strong heart and often went out of his way to protect and look after those in his Familia. But he did have a rough background, and as such had developed a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it came to weakness.

It was not his best quality, but for Riveria, and her friends; the Pallum and Captain of the Loki Familia, Finn, their axe wielding, dwarven companion, Gareth, as well as Loki herself, they could at least understand why he was acting this way. On top of which, the fact that he had also drunken too much, was also clear to see.

Still though, enough was enough, it was time to take matters into her own hands. She might not like it when Loki referred to her as 'mama', and claimed that she is the mother of the Loki Familia, but still, it was time to play mother and get Bete back in line.

As the green haired High Elf was about to speak though, her eyes narrowed and her beautiful, aristocratic features set into a look of disapproval, she found herself distracted by another voice coming over from near the bar.

It was the waitress Syr, the pleasant and pretty human girl, and the only member of the staff that was not a former Adventurer.

"Azoth! What are you doing? Don't cause any trouble!"

It was the last word, 'trouble', that caught both her attention, and Finn, Gareth and Loki's attention too as they glanced over at the source.

The three Level Six Adventurers; herself, Finn and Gareth, were all old enough, and experienced enough, to sense trouble when it was on the horizon. It was something every highly skilled Adventurer developed and honed, as in the deepest depths of the Dungeon this sense could be the difference between life and death.

Loki, the Goddess of Mischief, meanwhile, she was older than all of them put together, and as cunning and sly as they came. Despite her outward appearance, and the way she acted, Riveria, knew for a fact that the goddess was smarter and more intuitive than most.

Either way, they all heard the call and looked over to the source.

And it was good they did too.

As Riveria looked to the bar she saw the armoured figure she had vaguely clocked onto when they had first entered the bar, starting to approach their table.

From just a single look, Riveria, could see this elven man was dangerous. He was taller than most, well over six feet tall, and had a large build, which in turn was made even larger by the heavy, dark armour he was wearing. An armour which was made all the more intimidating, due to both how strong it looked, and due to how battered and destroyed it had been, despite its obvious durability.

This man looked like he had been in a ferocious fight with a terrible foe.

But that wasn't what concerned her most. No, what concerned her most was that this guy looked strong, and yet she didn't recognise him at all, either by sight, or by reputation.

Trailing her gaze over the man, Riveria took note of the intricately decorated, double bladed battle-axe on his back, and the faintly glowing, golden hilted sword at his hip, both of which, if she were not mistaken, were magic weapons.

Riveria's emerald eyes widened slightly at that realisation.

Magic weapons were as rare as they were powerful. For this man to so brazenly carry two, and for him to be an elf too. Well that was certainly telling in and of itself. Most of her kin despised magic weapons, due to such weapons being used many years ago to burn down one of the elven forests and to massacre her kin.

Just what he was doing wielding such weapons, well it had her very curious, and also made her distinctly cautious.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Riveria instead tore her gaze from his armour and weaponry, after having given them little more than a second's glance, and focused in properly on his face.

He was an elf; that much was obvious due to his long pointed ears and delicate, angular facial features.

That said he was like no elf she had seen before; he was tall and heavily built, with hair and skin as white as snow and intense, faintly glowing violet eyes. He was a visibly striking individual, admittedly handsome in a rough, crass kind of way, even with the scar which crossed his cheeks and nose, and clearly also; no normal, run of the mill, elf.

It was not just his armour and weaponry that told her this, it was his intense gaze, the way he held himself and the sheer aura of danger he was beginning to exude. This man was a fighter, a warrior, a killer.

And he was also clearly drunk… the slight stumble in his step and faintly glazed look in his intense, violet eyes was evidence enough of that.

"Riveria!" Bete snapped impatiently from behind her. Clearly the werewolf didn't like being ignored.

With that in mind she continued to ignore him and instead looked to Finn and Gareth, sharing a look with them as the white haired elf continued walking towards them. All three of them subtlety tensing up as a silent communication passed between them.

They might not be either armed or armoured, but all three of them were still Level Six, three of the very few Level Sixes in existence. They were not push overs, and if this unfamiliar stranger wanted to cause some trouble, well he himself would be the one in trouble when all was said and done.

"Oi, I'm talking to you, why are you ignoring me!?" Bete snapped, his patience finally getting the better of him as Tiona, Tione, Aiz and a number of other Familia members also began to notice the approaching man and turned to look at him.

"Hey puppy!" The elf suddenly called out loudly, his voice somewhat melodic, but also conversely carrying an undertone of feral excitement to it. It kind of reminded her of how Tiona and Tione sounded when they were hankering for a fight.

Almost at once the tavern noticeably quieted down. Syr noticeably palming her face from behind the bar, even as the green haired, elf waitress, Ryuu, and Mama Mia, paused in their actions and turned to watch.

Even from this distance Riveria could see the hint of worryingly excited anticipation in Mia's eyes as she leant against the bar, her elven maid at her side casual cleaning a mug, the elf's blue eyes fixed unerringly on the white haired elf, even as she joined her employer in spectating.

Just what did the former Captain of the Freya Familia know that they didn't?

As for the rest of the clientele, including the pale white and terrified looking, white haired boy next to Syr, they all just became quieter and started watching the potential confrontation eagerly, or in some cases, nervously.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking too?" Bete snapped, the prickly, short tempered teen instantly rising to the elf's insult and taking offence. With the werewolf standing up from his seat as he did so, his wooden chair crashing down to the floor behind him as he instantly reacted to the blatant provocation.

Great, this was just how she saw her night going.

Now she would need to play peace maker between two hot-headed Adventurer idiots, and stop them from fighting and causing a scene.

She didn't even know which Familia this guy was from, but despite that she would prefer that this not escalate into a Familia War or something worse.

From beside her, Loki, leant forward in anticipation, her red eyes fully open and alight with excitement as she looked back and forth between the two tall, dangerous men.

Clearly her goddess didn't think the same.

Riveria sighed at that.

Sometimes it was hard being one of the only responsible grownups in their Familia.

**( - )**

**(With Azoth)**

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking too?" The grey haired puppy shouted back, standing up to face Azoth as he did so.

"Bete something or other…" Azoth replied cheerfully, his gauntleted hands on his armoured hips as he met the teen's furious gaze with his own amused eyes. "I didn't catch your full name, but I did hear your yapping, bitching and whining!"

"The name is Bete Loga, and you better remember it!" Bete growled, slamming one of his feet on the table in front of him and glaring over at the Snow Elf as he did so. "Now get the fuck out of here before I lose my temper, this is a private party in case you didn't notice!"

Azoth smiled as he heard that, even as the rest of the tavern remained quiet, all of them watching the confrontation with tense excitement. Save of course for the green haired elf, short bearded man and blonde child, they all looked up at him suspiciously their bodies tense as if they were ready to move in an instant.

"Hmm, maybe," Azoth nodded, his lips curving upwards as he looked down and met the elf's green eyes. She was pretty damned beautiful, but that beauty he noticed, was an austere kind. Cold and composed, the elf woman had the look of royalty about her. Azoth had met enough Jarls and Queens, and people who thought themselves royalty, to tell.

"Then what are you still doing here?! Or are you just an idiot looking for a beat down!?" Bete snarled, striding around from behind the now silent table as he instead came to a stop right in front of Azoth, the both of them now standing; nose to nose, and eye to eye.

"Oh, so you have the same thing in mind! That's brilliant!" Azoth replied cheerfully, his tone joyous as he clapped his hand on the other man's shoulder in a friendly manner, ignoring the looks of anticipation the two tanned woman, and the red haired goddess, were giving the two to them as he did so.

"What?" Bete replied, his face furrowing in confusion, even as those watching began to mutter amongst one another.

"We're in a tavern aren't we, so how about it? A friendly brawl, me and you, right here and now!" Azoth continued bluntly, expanding on his statement and ignoring the gasps, stupefied expressions and looks of pity people were sending him.

"Are you insane, I'm a Level Five Adventurer, one of the best of the best?! You're just some no name loser!" Bete growled, taking a step back as he looked Azoth up and down, almost like he thought he had some major mental health issues.

"Nah, I'm not insane, and I'm not exactly a beginner either. A veteran Adventurer, that's me!" Azoth replied cheerfully, thumping his armoured chest with his gauntlet as he did so, conveniently ignoring the slight tinkle of metal as a piece fell off his ravaged armour and bounced onto the floor.

The others at the table however didn't, and the look of excitement on the tanned girls' faces turned to incredulity, even as Riveria, the green haired elf, and a couple of others stood up, as if hoping to intercede in the two drunk men's conversation.

It was unfortunate for them though that Azoth was already too amped up for a fight, so much so that even if they had managed to intercede earlier he wouldn't have allowed it.

"So come on what do you say we take this outside and have a brawl. No weapons of course, we're not trying to kill or maim one another. Oh, and let's make a wager on it. If I win you buy me a tankard of ale and stop being so noisy, and if you win I buy you a tankard of ale and apologise for calling you a puppy!" Azoth beamed, flashing his white teeth as he clapped Bete on the shoulder again, ignoring the looks of surprise and confusion all around them.

"Right, I think that's enough." Riveria tried to cut in, forcing her way between the two of them, showing a startling amount of strength for one with such a lithe form as she physically pushed the two of them apart.

"No, I like the way this shit bag is talking!" Bete growled, pushing, Riveria, gently to one side as he met Azoth's gaze. "You're insane and about to getting the beating of your life, kid!" Here Bete's lips curved into a grin. "But I like you all the same, you've got guts!"

"Easy there puppy, don't count me out yet!" Azoth replied, his own smile turning feral.

"I think…" The blonde child began, only to be cut off by his goddess.

"No, let them fight." Loki said, grabbing onto the back of Finn's shirt to stop him from interfering as she eagerly looked between Bete and Azoth. "It isn't serious, and won't do any harm. Besides I want to see what happens."

"Loki!" Riveria hissed.

"Oh come on mama, you, Finn and Gareth will be there to make sure nothing bad happens." Loki waved her away.

"Yeah come on Riveria, let them fight!" Tiona added on excitedly.

"What do you think Captain?" Tione spoke up next, her green eyes flicking over to the blonde child as she did so.

"As long as they keep it friendly, and it doesn't get out of hand, I think it should be fine." Finn, the child and apparent Captain of the Familia, and wasn't that a surprise, said carefully. "That said if Bete goes too far I will stop the fight. The last thing we want is a Familia War because of this."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that!" Azoth laughed, waving the comment away. "I'm new to town, I haven't joined a Familia yet, or gotten a new patron!"

Again his words caused a lot of muttering, and more than a few doubtful comments. By the sounds of it he wasn't the bookies favourite to win this thing.

"Enough talk elf! You and me, right here, right now!" Bete growled, shoving Azoth backwards as he did so.

"If you're going to brawl, or whatever you want to call it, you can go outside!" Mia called out from behind the bar, her brown eyes shining with anticipation, even as a number of the other patrons started shouting and cheering, and others started making wagers.

"See you out there then!" Azoth grinned, before he headed for the bar, calling over his shoulder as he did so. "Remember, no weapons, only fists!"

"Shitty elf!" Bete replied, draining his tankard of ale and slamming it down, before he headed for the door his hands in his pocket, and his Familia members, most of whom looked excited, following after him.

"Well you sure know how to cause a stir don't you?" Mia said mildly, grinning over at, Azoth, as she did so. "You sure you'll be alright? Bete Loga is a tough one, he won't go down easily!"

Taking off Dawnbreaker, his Daedric dagger and Wuuthrad, and beginning to unbuckle his Ebony Armour, Azoth just grinned.

"It'll be fine, after the day I've had I need a good punch up to work off my stress!" Azoth waved her off, laying his weapons on the bar as he did so. "That said do you mind looking after my stuff while I'm fighting?"

Eyeing the weapons for a moment, Mia then nodded curtly. "Stick them in the back before you head out with the rest of your stuff, no one will touch them."

"Thanks," Azoth nodded as he continued to unbuckle his armour with practiced ease.

"Please, Mister Azoth, you don't need to do this!?" Bell suddenly said, distracting the Snow Elf as he looked away from the patrons and barmaids, including Syr and Mia, who were all heading out into the street and instead down at the kid.

"What're you talking about kid?" Azoth grunted, pulling off his breastplate as he did so, so that he was now only wearing a; sweat and blood stained, padded, cotton tunic over his torso.

The shirt he usually wore underneath his armour. Which even to Azoth, who had become used to the smell, absolutely stank, and was in desperate need of a wash. But still beggars couldn't be choosers, he would just have to bear with it until he got a chance to get a new shirt, or washing his current one.

"You don't have to fight that guy over what he was saying about me!" Bell continued, even as Azoth jumped over the bar, giving Ryuu a nod and a wink as he did so, even as he bundled all of his weaponry and armour under the stairs, and safely out of sight of any opportunistic thieves.

"I'm not doing anything for you kid, I don't even know you properly." Azoth grunted in reply, tucking his stuff safely away and checking it over, before he leapt back over the bar. "Your problems are your own, Bell Cranel, and you'll have to solve them yourself. Me, I am just fighting this guy because I fancy it!"

"What?" Bell gasped, looking up at the taller, broad chested Snow Elf in shock.

"You coming, Ryuu?" Azoth called, stretching his arms as he walked towards the open door. Through which he could already see the large crowd of drunk and cheering revellers waiting, as well as the impatient looking, Bete.

"Yes," Ryuu said after a moment, gesturing for the still stunned Bell to go first. "Don't hurt him too badly."

Azoth cocked an eyebrow at that, and grinned. It appears at least one person had faith in his abilities. "Don't worry, it's not a serious fight."

With that said Azoth grabbed a three quarters full tankard of ale from an empty table and stepped outside, much to the renewed shouting and cheering of the crowd of bloodthirsty drunks.

"Come along Mister Cranel." Ryuu said, ushering the white haired kid out after Azoth, the boy in question mumbling under his breath as he did so.

Only for him to freeze as a voice, Bete's voice called out, "Wait a second, isn't that tomato boy!?"

**( - )**

**(A few minutes earlier)**

"Now remember Bete, you'll need to pull your punches a bit. This guy is from outside of Orario, so he probably isn't more than a Level Three, or a Level Four tops." Tiona said from beside Bete, patting the taller teen on the shoulder and smirking up at him as she did so.

"Yeah, last thing we need is a murder charge levelled against us because you went overboard in a bar fight." Tione tagged on, flicking her long dark hair behind her shoulder as she did so.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I'm not actually going kill or cripple the guy, just rough him up a bit, I do still want that apology and free drink!" Bete replied, his hands still in his pockets as he waited for the white haired elf to show himself.

"Still be careful Bete, there is more to this guy than you might think." Finn cautioned, the blonde Pallum standing beside Loki with his arms folded, his gaze not on Bete but on the door to the Hostess of Fertility.

"There is something unnatural about him, do not take him lightly." Riveria added on softly.

"Hn, whatever." Bete growled, waving them off.

"What do you think about the guy Miss Aiz?" Lefiya, the Level Three mage and elf, asked, looking to the tall, emotionless looking blonde as she did so, her blue eyes sparkling as they took in Aiz's lithe form, waist length golden blonde hair and intense golden eyes.

"Strong." Aiz said simply.

"What! Not you too Aiz!" Bete growled, snapping around to look at the blonde, his face going a bit red as he did so.

This was something the two Amazon twins noticed, much to his chagrin, as they almost immediately started laughing and teasing him about it.

Before anymore could be said though, the attention of the Loki Familia and the rest of the excitably chattering crowd was quickly drawn to the doorway as the white haired elf arrived.

Looking over as he did so, Bete started sizing him up at once. The guy wasn't wearing his black armour anymore, or at least not over his torso, his legs and feet however were still booted.

Despite this though the guy still had a broad shouldered, heavily muscled build, something which was at odds with the rest of his race. The guy was an elf that had the build of a particularly tall and athletic dwarf. It was the build of a warrior, not a mage.

On top of that the elf was tall, probably the same height as, Bete, himself, if not a little shorter without the armoured boots he was wearing. Still, he was tall and probably properly proportioned, meaning that Bete wouldn't have the reach advantage.

Rolling his shoulders as he stepped into the centre of the circle, Bete, moved forward so as to face off with the elf. Noticing as he did how the padded jacket he was wearing was stained with blood and sweat.

The thing absolutely stunk, enough so that it made Bete's sensitive nose wrinkle up in disgust.

Grinning slightly as he entered the circle, Azoth, cracked his neck to the side and raised his fists in front of him, his body slowly moving from side to side and his feet shifting with practiced ease as he started to prepare for a fist fight.

Growling inwardly at the cocky smile on the slightly older/ younger man's face, it was impossible to tell with elves, Bete, kept his hands casually stuffed in his pockets, even as he watched the odd elf carefully, waiting for him to make the first move.

It was as he was doing this though, that Bete glanced over the elf's shoulder and saw a white haired, scrawny looking kid leaving the tavern behind him.

One that look vaguely familiar to him.

"Wait a second, isn't that tomato boy!?" Bete suddenly laughed, a grin spreading across his face as he saw the teen freeze at his words, his face going bright red as many eyes turned to look at him, including the golden eyes of Aiz Wallenstein.

A few moments later the red faced boy unfroze, and promptly ran away his face in his hands as Bete's started laughing loudly again.

"Tomato boy… that's clever, did you come up with it yourself?" Azoth shot back dryly, his lip curling upwards in a mocking smirk as he caught Bete's eyes, his words causing the werewolves laughter to die off.

"He's got you there, Bete!" Tiona laughed from the side lines.

"Shut up!" Bete snapped back, his dark eyes flashing with anger as he looked back at Azoth. "Well come on then, let's fight!"

**( - )**

At Bete's words, Azoth shot forwards, he needed no further prompting.

The cheers and jeers of the crowd around him faded to nothing as he closed the distance between him and Bete in mere moments, his right fist already swinging around for a devastating right hook.

Bete however, was already ready for him, as with a snarl he leapt backwards away from the punch, and lashed out with a kick to Azoth's head.

Only for Azoth to move forward and block it, his right arm raising up as a block, catching Bete's armoured shin with ease. The strength of Bete's blow not affecting the Snow Elf in the slightest as he shrugged off the blow that would have felled a weaker Adventurer with ease.

Growling at this, Bete followed up his first kick with another, and then another, and another. His legs little more than blurs as he leapt forward, unleashing powerful kick after powerful kick at the elf, occasionally leaping into the air so to give extra force to his onslaught of kicks.

Azoth though dodged or blocked all of them, his violet eyes following Bete's movements with ease as he weathered the first half dozen blows without trouble. The white haired elf looking none the worse for it as he patiently waited for an opening, even as Bete continued to lash out at him.

The grey haired man was faster than him, of that there was no denying.

But Azoth was stronger, and far more durable.

The few blows that Bete did succeed in landing, even if only partially, were not that strong. In fact they were no stronger than the blows one might receive from a bad tempered troll.

To a newbie Adventurer they would be devastating, but to someone of Azoth's calibre. Well he could shrug them off easily enough.

The grey haired man could attack him like this all day, and Azoth's durability, stamina and the natural regeneration he, courtesy of his werewolf blood, dulled though it was in his human form, would see him through.

That said, Azoth didn't want to be here all night as he waited for his opponent to tire himself out. No, he had stuff to do. Accommodation for the night to find, for one.

Shifting his feet back, Azoth's violet eyes lit up when he spotted a sudden opening. His hand twisting as he went from blocking with his left arm, to gripping Bete's armoured shin. The other man's metal shin guards, which went from his ankles to his knees, and which were made of some kind of unfamiliar metal, creaking and screeching as his vice like hand gripped them.

"What!" Bete snapped mid kick, his voice laced with surprise.

Azoth didn't answer him though, as with a tug he pulled the other man off guard and landed a straight right to his gut. The force of his unarmoured punch knocking the wind out of Bete's lungs and folding him over, even as Azoth released his leg and landed a left to the side of his head sending him staggering backwards and nearly onto his arse.

Continuing his assault, Azoth moved in close both arms up, and his hand clenched into fist as he unleashed powerful blow after powerful blow. His fists smashing into Bete's stomach, kidneys, liver, arms and head as he weaved from side to side, each punch leading into another one.

Azoth was very skilled at unarmed fighting, after all he was a veteran of many a tavern brawl. Hell he had even beaten a giant in a fist fight before, though in that case he had been wearing his Ebony gauntlets.

Landing another punch to Bete's gut, Azoth then followed this up with a head-butt. His head smashing into Bete's face as his gut shot naturally forced him to bend forward, the blow breaking the wolf boy's nose with a sickening crunch. Only for Azoth to follow this up with another punch to the gut, almost lifting the other man off his feet from the strength of the strike.

Where the power behind Bete's punches maybe as strong as an enraged troll's, Azoth's were more comparable with a fury filled giant.

Every punch he unleashed struck with the force and weight of a steel war hammer.

**( - )**

"Gah!" Bete spat, a fine mist of blood spraying out of his mouth as the elf continued his assault, his movements brutally efficient as he kept in close to the werewolf, not allowing him time to breath, or space to use the kicks his fighting style relied upon.

It was ridiculous, the elf was moving at the speed of a high Level Four, or a low Level Five Adventurer, fast, but not as fast as the werewolf. But his strength, his strength was easily on a par with Gareth's strength, and Gareth was a Level Six and the strongest in the Familiar.

If it weren't for him being a high Level Five Adventurer, then Bete knew he would have been down by this point. Already he could feel that several of his ribs were broken, and the mist of blood that left his mouth with every breath told him that he had suffered some internal damage.

He was in trouble.

_'__This elf is mental.' _Bete thought to himself, throwing himself backward, his arms up as he tried to weave between the elf's punches, completely on the defensive now as he tried to get enough space to get a breather.

The elf's strength wasn't even the worse part, it was his durability too. If possible the elf was more durable than Gareth. The few punches and kicks he had managed to land on the white haired elf had probably hurt him more than they did the elf.

Honestly it was like punching solid stone, and this was when the man wasn't wearing his armour.

It was impossible, how could this nobody, an unknown Adventurer who just rolled into town today, be this high of a level.

The guy had to be a High Level Five at the least, if not a Level Six.

Throwing himself backwards, ignoring the shouting and roaring from the crowd as he did so, Bete swung his leg around and managed to land a kick on the elf's legs. If he could take his legs out from under him, then he could get on top of him and bring both his weight and strength to bear.

He had to end the fight now, his stamina was already starting to flag.

"Argh!" Bete bellowed, silencing the crowd as he kicked off the ground and landed a few feet away from Azoth, only for him to stumble as his knee nearly gave out beneath him.

He had landed a clean kick on the man, but against his armoured legs. He might well as not done anything. In fact all that had happened, was that he had left himself open for the elf to land a kick off his own, or rather a stamp, as his booted foot had smashed into Bete's own leg.

The kick hadn't broken anything though, his mithril shin guards, his Flosvirt, had protected him from that much. But it had sure as hell had still hurt, and hurt a lot.

"Come on puppy, is that all you've got!?" Azoth called out with a grin, the elf looking none the worse for wear, save for a thin trail of dried blood that ran down from his mouth.

One of Bete's kicks had glanced the elf's face, the force of the glancing blow having mashed the elf's lips against his own teeth, enough to draw blow.

It was the only visible damage he had dealt to the elf. Whilst in return the elf had broken several ribs, damaged and bruised a few organs, nearly broken his leg and nearly dislocated his jaw.

"Come on Bete, don't let this elf show up the Loki Familia! No offence Riveria, Lefiya!" Tiona cheered from the side, her words causing a loud roar of support to come from his watching Familia members.

Glancing to the side, Bete felt some of his fighting spirit return when he saw his Familia, his family, cheering him on. Even Finn, Gareth and the ever stern Riveria were cheering for him. Though notably the High Elf was a lot more reserved, and just clapped for him, and, when he met her gaze, nodded at him.

"You can do it Bete, don't give up." Loki shouted enthusiastically from beside the doll faced, and emotionless Aiz. "Show this poser the true might of the Loki Familia!"

Bete grinned wolfishly at that, sending his opponent a fierce, bloody smile as he did so.

"You've got some good friends there, puppy." Azoth called to him, the smile on his face taking any venom away from his words.

Not that that stopped them from pissing Bete off.

Behind the white haired Adventurer, Bete could see the dark clouds overhead shifting. The clouds moving aside to reveal the moon overhead.

It was not a full one, but it was near to full, and already Bete could feel the beams of light from the moon reinvigorating him.

"Keep laughing asshole, this fight is over!" Bete spat, his eyes flashing as he began to draw on the moonlight, using both his natural, Beastification ability, and his Skill, Úlfheðinn, to use the power of the moon to empower himself.

It might be going too far, but he wouldn't accept a defeat.

For the pride of his Familia, and his own pride, he would take this asshole elf down!

Almost at once the signs of what he was doing became obvious, both to those watching and to Azoth.

His hair visibly became wilder and shaggier, and his teeth longer and sharper, his body shifted slightly as he hunched over and became more feral, and more animalistic. A silver glow also rapidly began to cover his body as he felt all of his attributes rapidly increasing; his strength, endurance, agility and dexterity.

On top of that his face began to twist from angry, to furious as his thoughts became more and more violent and his usual 'civility' turned into fury.

This was his trump card.

All around the circle most of those that knew what was happening began to back off, the cheering and shouting fading as they heard the bestial roar that erupted from Bete's mouth.

The Executive members of the Loki Familia however all tensed up, most of them readying themselves to intercede in the fight if necessary, just in case Bete went too far.

There was no problem with him using his natural skills and abilities. But all of them knew how much stronger those abilities made him, and how much more violent and vicious.

The last thing they wanted was for, Bete, injured and hurt as he had been, to lose control and cripple or kill his opponent.

The fight thus far had been mostly civil. No permanent damage had been dealt, and neither of the two had aimed to kill or maim the other, or at least not yet.

Riveria, Finn and Gareth all exchanged glances. None of them had thought that Bete would be pushed this far.

On the other side of the circle though, Azoth remained calm, his violet eyes flashing even as he sniffed the air, the smirk on his face turning into the grin of a battle fanatic as he seemed to realise just what Bete was up too.

**( - )**

"Well isn't this a surprise, the puppy, turned out to be a werewolf puppy." Azoth called out, watching, Bete, carefully as the grey haired werewolf roared back at him.

The boy was not a werewolf as Azoth knew them as, but he was a something reminiscent of a werewolf, or this plain of existence's version of a Lycanthrope.

It was interesting, and a part of him. His inner wolf, the part of him that craved battle and challenge, wanted to test what this werewolf could do when compared to a purer version of its species, an alpha.

_'__He's given up all reason for power.' _Azoth thought to himself, his grin widening, his dignified features turning wilder and wilder as he saw the werewolf crouching down lower, readying himself to lunge forwards at any moment. _'Was this what I was like when I first drank the blood of the wolf?'_

"Azoth be careful, he's more dangerous than ever!" Mia called out from behind Azoth, forcing her was through the crowd as she did so. "I think you both should stop now, before it gets out of hand!"

**"****No!" **Bete snarled, his words as bestial as his body.

Mia scowled as she heard Bete's response, seeming to swell up with anger and indignation as she did so.

"It's fine Mia, I can handle him. I'll make sure things don't go too far." Azoth added, slowly unbuttoning his padded cotton shirt as he did so, before without a word he pulled it off and let it fall to the ground. He didn't want to wreck his shirt.

As he did this, he heard a gasp and muttering from some of the Adventurers and spectators in the surrounding crowd, and he knew why.

His skin was as pale as freshly fallen snow, and thus it made him stick out in the darkening street, giving him an almost ethereal appearance. On top of that his body was a patch work of scars, some of which he had gained when he had still been a bandit and a sneak thief, these were mainly the ones caused by blades. Whilst others, the more gruesome ones, he had received when he became an Adventurer, a lot of those were from dragons, trolls, Draugr and Falmer.

Rolling his shoulders, Azoth ignored the looks of those around him as he instead drew on the bestial blood that flow through his veins.

He may have the soul of a dragon, but he had the body of the beast, and over the years, just as he had learned to control his draconic soul and all that that entailed, so too had he learned to tame his beast's blood.

**"****Let's do this!" **Azoth spat, his body hunching over as he did so, even as thick, snow white fur began to force itself out of his body, and his arms and legs became longer, and more muscled, his bones cracking an crunching, even as great claws forced their way out of his rapidly growing hands. His violet eyes meaning while became slitted and began to glow brightly in the darkness, even as his face twisted and began to extend, becoming more and more wolf like.

**( - )**

Riveria took a step back in shock the moment she saw Azoth began to transform.

Even from where she was stood she could hear the cracking of bones as he grew taller and bulkier, snow white fur forcing its way out of his skin, even as his face shifted and contorted. It was almost like he was turning into some kind of monster.

"What in the…" Riveria muttered.

This was not natural. What kind of skill did the pale elf have?

From beside her she could see the shock, fear and consternation of all of those around her. With those who were civilians, and the many Level One and dozen or so Level Two Adventurers, the majority of Adventurers in the city, began to back off fearfully.

There was an aura of danger and menace coming off of Azoth now, something reminiscent of the feeling one would get when they face off with a powerful Monster Rex.

Glancing sideways, she immediately saw the concern that now laced Finn, Gareth and even Loki's faces.

This was unnatural, and they all knew it.

From where she was stood she could feel the power emanating of the giant, elf turned wolf like monster, even as he shifted low to the ground, Bete, mirroring his actions. Though notably the grey haired man's own eyes began to show shock, and if she were not mistaken, fear.

"Finn, I think that you should end the fight now!" Loki muttered seriously, looking to the Captain of her Familia nervously now.

If even Loki was beginning to get nervous, then that meant things were getting serious.

"That's enough, end the fight now!" Mama Mia called out, the former Captain of the Freya Familia no doubt recognising the dread aura too, as she forced her way through the crowd, a number of her; former Adventurers turned waitresses, following after her.

The two brawling men didn't reply though, instead they rushed at one another, both of them crossing the few metre distance between one another in moments. One a glowing silver, grey blur, the other a mass of white fur and clawed fury.

The moment they clashed the size difference between the two was obvious. Bete was a tall man, who stood at nearly six and a half feet. Azoth though, as he was now, was well over seven feet tall, and was probably four feet wide at his shoulders, and all of that was lean, powerful muscle.

"Right; Riveria, Gareth, Aiz, Tione, Tiona, we need to stop this!" Finn called out decisively, even as the two men turned beasts slammed into one another with brutal ferocity.

Bete little more than a blur as he landed a half dozen brutal kicks in but a moment, his mithril, shin guards adding to the impact of his strikes.

Not that it did any good, Azoth barely flinched. No doubt his thick hide deadened most of the blunt force from Bete's kicks, enough so that he could ignore the strikes, strikes which in Bete's current form, were probably at the strength of a Level Six Adventurer.

It was unnerving.

Azoth though didn't take the attack lying down. Instead he countered in an instant, showing off a startling amount of control, and intelligence for his current form, as he used one of his muscled, fur covered arms to block several more of Bete's kicks, before he lashed out. His clawed hand leaving centimetre deep scratches on Bete's shin guards, even as they knocked him off balance.

Following this up Azoth's other clawed hand swung round and smashed Bete clear off of his feet, the force of the blow sending him sailing through the air. Only for Azoth to then catch him by one of his legs and pull him back, nearly dislocating his hip as the then smashed him into the ground like a rag doll; once, twice, thrice.

Hurling Bete away and sending him smashing into the ground, still conscious, likely due to his Beastification, but obviously very dazed.

Turning to face the grey haired werewolf, even as he struggled to stand up. The white furred Azoth slammed both of his clawed hands onto the ground, cracking the cobbles beneath him, even as he let loose a deafening howl.

It was a howl that inspired terror, the sheer sound of it, and Azoth's own inhuman aura, causing the civilians to cower, and flee, and some to faint from sheer fear. The Level Ones and Twos were also notably affected, some of them cowering like the civilians, whilst others just turned tail and fled.

Looking around at her group though, Riveria noticed that the Level Threes and above were all able to stand strong and shake off the terrifying effects of the howl. Though looking at some of the Level Threes, like Lefiya, she could see the sweat beading on their foreheads.

Clenching her hands into fists, Riveria shared a look with Finn.

This Azoth, he was no normal Adventurer. He had to be a Level Six at the least considering his sheer strength, durability and skill, and a dangerous Level Six at that considering this wolf form skill, or whatever it was, and his ability to unleash a howl that cause Level Two Adventurers and below to quiver in terror.

It was concerning, especially since they had no idea who this elf was.

"Let's go." Finn muttered, pulling a dagger out of his boot as he did so. His words snapping Riveria's mind back on track, and making her look up, just in time to see the giant, white anthropomorphic wolf approaching the dazed and injured Bete.

"Right!" Gareth grunted, clenching his hands into fists as he prepared to move.

Seeing this, Riveria nodded silently. They were right, enough was enough. It was time to stop this brawl here and now.

Suffice to say, it had well and truly gotten out of hand.

**( - )**

Azoth's heart was beating like a battle drum, his blood was burning as it pumped through his veins. This is what he loved, this is why he was so compatible with the beast within, both the wolf and the dragon. He loved fighting against a worthy opponent.

This might not be a life or death battle, which was a pity as they really got his blood pumping. But even so it was fun. Whatever this Bete character had done to enhance himself had worked. Bete's strength was now on a par, if not greater than Azoth's own natural strength, and his speed had pretty much double what it had been before.

It was phenomenal, and glorious.

Of course whilst in the form of a beast, Azoth's strength had also tripled, and his durability was even higher.

Still despite that his opponent's kicks still stung, and the little damage they did cause, before his regeneration healed it, gave him pause.

Still, despite his struggling, the other, lesser werewolf, was not in the same league as him. Already he had had to hold back on some of his strikes whilst in this form, and had deliberately not used his claws. He didn't want to disembowel or kill the man after all.

Growling in the back of his throat, Azoth began to lumber forwards, his sharp, lupine eyes glowing in the dark as he advanced on the struggling grey haired werewolf, even as he unsteadily got to his feet.

This was it.

It was time to end the fight here and now, before the other man got too badly hurt.

As he took a step forward though, Azoth soon found himself facing off with three other members of the Loki Familia.

The blond child, the green haired elf and the short, bearded manling.

Pausing, Azoth growled in irritation when he felt the doll like, blonde human land behind him, the two tanned girls also stepping up behind him at the same moment.

He was surrounded, and they all looked very serious.

Raising the dagger in his hand, his other hand held out in front of him in warning, the blonde's blue eyes locked with Azoth's.

"That's enough, this fight is over!"

Pausing as he heard that, Azoth could see that many of the people in the crowd were mumbling, and looking tense and scared, even as Mia and her girl's looked like they were unsure whether to get involved or not.

Letting out a huff of irritation, Azoth quelled the beast within. His bones cracking and crunching, even as his thick, white fur began to recede. His form becoming smaller and more elf like by the moment as he let out a loud groan.

Forcing himself back into the form of an elf when the beast within him was not ready, was never a pleasant task.

Tensing up as he did this, Azoth watched all the members of the Loki Familia cautiously, even as he returned to his natural Snow Elf form.

"Yes, yes I know, I was already planning on stopping. I just thought I would give your friend one more chance before I brought it to an end." Azoth shrugged, rolling his shoulders to get rid of any lingering stiffness, even as he looked down at the kid.

The Loki Familia noticeably relaxed at this, and at the fact that he had returned to his natural form.

"Sorry, things got a bit out of hand. I guess I got a bit over excited when, Bete, went all beast on me." Azoth continued, grinning slightly as he saw the bloodied and bruised, but still conscious Bete being helped to his feet by the short, bearded man.

"No hard feelings?" Azoth continued, sticking out a hand to the blonde. "Sorry but I don't think I got your name?"

The blonde kid blinked in surprise at this, even as the other members of the Loki Familia looked at one another in bemusement. It appeared they had not expected this reaction out of him.

Personally Azoth found it amusing. What did they expect that he would be in such a blood rage that he would try and fight them all?

"Finn, Finn Deimne." Finn replied, cautiously taking Azoth's proffered hand in his own much smaller one, before shaking it. "And I don't see a reason to make an issue out of this. It was a friendly spar that just got a little out of hand. All, Bete, needs is a few potions and he'll be fine."

"I'm glad, I did try to pull my punches at the end there. But I did figure that your guy was tough enough that I didn't need to hold back right from the start." Azoth nodded, noting as he did how the crowd around them seemed to relax, as too did the Loki Familia Executives, the more him and Finn talked.

"That was you holding back?" The short, bearded man spoke up with a bark of laughter, even as he held Bete still, whilst the green haired elf gave him some kind of potion. "You're one crazy elf, I would love to see what you can do when you really let loose!"

"Yeah that was crazy, what was with that whole transformation thing?" Tiona asked, bouncing forward cheerfully now that the danger had passed. Her green eyes wide with curiousity as she quickly invaded Azoth's personal space.

"Tiona leave him, he's from another Familia, it's not polite to question other, unfamiliar Adventurers about their skills and stats!" Tione, the other girl's elder sister shot back.

"Aww!" Tiona complained.

Smiling slightly at this interaction, Azoth took a step back, only to pause when he saw Ryuu behind him, his shirt in one and that ever curious expression on her face as she handed the garment to him.

"You fought well." Ryuu said with a nod, even as he took the shirt and pulled it on over his torso.

"Thanks Ryuu!" Azoth replied with a grin.

"Yeah and you definitely need a bath, you smell like a wet dog!" Tiona added in in an overly friendly manner, pinching her nose as she caught the smell emanating off of his shirt.

"It's been a long, long day!" Azoth replied defensively.

"Urgh, what hit me!?" Bete groaned out, his catching the attention of the others, before they could say anymore.

"Your opponent did," Riveria spoke up dryly.

"Did I win?" Bete asked weakly, pushing himself off of Gareth as he looked around.

"Nope, you got completely crushed!" Tiona laughed, her words causing Bete to flush, before he looked up and locked gazes with Azoth.

"You beat me?" Bete asked hollowly.

"Yes, and I do believe you now owe me a tankard of ale!" Azoth nodded, a wide grin on his face as he stuck his hand out. "Good fight though!"

"Urgh, yeah!" Bete nodded after a moment, taking the proffered hand and shaking it. His eyes fixed on Azoth, his gaze holding both curiousity and caution to it as he remembered what had happened. "What the hell are you?"

"I'm… complex…" Azoth replied with a shrug.

"We noticed." Riveria replied coldly, her gaze locking inquisitively with Azoth's. From behind the green haired elf, he could also see their goddess sending him a burning, curious look, one which was partly curious, partly hungry, and partly cautious.

Meeting her gaze for a moment, Azoth knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever the divine being was planning, it wouldn't end well.

Pushing that thought away for now, Azoth instead started heading for the tavern, ignoring the nervous, wary, excited and curious people around him as he did so. "Come on then, Loga, how about that drink!?"

"Urgh, fine!" Bete groaned in response, following after Azoth, the rest of his Familia and the crowd following his lead.

**( - )**

**AN: So what did you all think? We got to meet some more character, Azoth got to stretch his legs, and surprisingly doesn't make any enemies, though he does make some people nervous. Unfortunately though that comes hand in hand with my character, he is a warrior/ spellsword type, a bit of a battle fanatic and although smart, is more than a bit reckless. That said he is not stupid, nor callous. He just likes a good fight and to test himself, and I think a bit of that comes from his upbringing in Skyrim, after all in the game there is quite a few brawls you can get into. Some of which leads to you getting a friend, some what you want from them and an enemy.**

**Still, I did enjoy writing the fight scene and playing around with Azoth's abilities. That said that does lead me onto an issue a few people have brought up.**

**Now I do know that a falna is not supposed to take into account a person prior experience and is instead supposed to start off whoever it is given too at Level One. I am more than aware of that. That said in a fantasy world, a world or magic and gods, there are a lot more grey areas, and not everything is yes and no, or black and white. **

**This is why I've decided for my way forward, that since Azoth has previously been blessed, and made the Champion of the Daedric Prince, Meridia, that he will not start off as a Level One. Partly because I don't see the added drama of having a Level One with the abilities of a High Class Adventurer adding anything to the plot. Especially since I've got quite a lot of stuff planned, some of which could potentially become convoluted if I am not careful. **

**So with that in mind I have decided that although they were in a different realm of existence, and he didn't have a falna as exists in the Danmachi verse, the skills, abilities and strength he acquired as the Champion of Meridia will be transferable. Due to godly reasons and divine technicalities and what not. **

**Hope this doesn't disappoint too much, but in a world of gods and magic, I feel there is a lot of scope to play around with the laws and what not, which is exactly what I am going to do, because reasons.**

**That said I do hope you all still continue reading and enjoying my story, and try out some of my other ones if you have the time. **

**Thanks a lot for reading, please do leave a review!**

**Catch you later.**

**Greed720.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: So the reception to this story has continued to be brilliant, and honestly it has. The amount of support I have received has been phenomenal, so thanks a lot for that, I really appreciate it!**

**With that said I hope you all enjoy the next chapter and continue to leave reviews and support my story! Also please feel free to PM me is you have any questions!**

**Thanks a lot for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elder Scrolls of Danmachi.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_From behind the green haired elf, he could also see their goddess sending him a burning, curious look, one which was partly curious, partly hungry, and partly cautious. _

_Meeting her gaze for a moment, Azoth knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever the divine being was planning, it wouldn't end well._

_Pushing that thought away for now, Azoth instead started heading for the tavern, ignoring the nervous, wary, excited and curious people around him as he did so. "Come on then, Loga, how about that drink!?"_

_"__Urgh, fine!" Bete groaned in response, following after Azoth, the rest of his Familia and the crowd following his lead._

**( - )**

**Chapter 5**

**( - )**

**(With Azoth)**

Groaning as he sat up, Azoth, once again found himself in the unenviable positon, for the second time in as many days, of not knowing where the hell we was.

Looking around, he could tell that he was in a small room, a room which had wooden walls, and a low sloping ceiling. All of that was obvious from just a cursory look, as too was the fact that he was lying on a large, wooden framed, double bed, a set of thick, green, unfamiliar looking, wool sheets covering his naked form, and a large, and admittedly very soft, pillar cushioning his head.

As places to randomly wake up, and Azoth had unfortunately been through this experience more than once in his life, went, this one was not bad. The room was warm and cosy, and his bed, pillow and blankets were clean and very comfortable.

In fact the only real problem he had at the moment was that his head was throbbing with pain, and his throat was as dry as a desert on a particularly hot day.

It was a familiar feeling, one that he had experienced many times before. It was the feeling one would get in the morning after having drunk far too much the night before.

Groaning again, Azoth, pushed the blanket off of him, uncaring of his nudity as he instead placed one of his pale hands to his head, desperately trying to concentrate as he summoned up his magicka and cast his spell, 'Fast Healing', a sigh of relief leaving his lips as he directed the restorative magic to his head, soothing his headache and washing away the linger effects of the alcohol from the night before.

He may not be a pretentious Winterhold College Mage, even after all he had done for them, the ungrateful bastards! But he had at least picked up enough spells and tricks, and honed his control over Magicka enough, to call himself an adept spell caster.

Which was probably a good thing, after all he tended to rely on his adept level spells when he was in a fight!

A guy would be a pretty piss poor spellsword if he couldn't cast any spells.

Sighing in relief as he felt his hangover fade away to nothingness, Azoth, cut off his spell and instead looked over to a nearby bedside table, his violet eyes lighting up with delight they locked onto a tankard of what looked like water.

Grabbing the tankard in question, Azoth, after sniffing the water and checking for any untoward using his enhanced sense of smell, then drained the mug in one go. A trail of water dripping down his chin as he smacked his lips and put the tankard down.

He might not be very good at Alchemy, in fact woeful would be a good word to describe his attempts at the craft. But he had enough experience using potions and poisons to tell when something might have been interfered with.

And even if he didn't his werewolf constitution, and the healing factor that gave him, would keep him alive long enough for him to use a bit of Restorative Magic to purge the toxins from his body.

"Right," Azoth muttered to himself and sitting up straight in his bed. He was much happier now his headache was gone. "Where in Oblivion are my bloody clothes?"

Looking around the otherwise empty bedroom, Azoth, didn't see a sign of his trousers or his shirt. His Ebony armour, battle-axe, sword and dagger he could all see piled up in a corner of the room. But the rest of his clothing, well they were gone, even his undergarments…

"Hmm, curious." Azoth muttered, unashamedly pushing himself out of bed and standing up completely in the buff, his gaze going from the door that was on one side of the room, to a set of wooden shutters that was set into the wall on the other side.

Crossing the room, Azoth threw the shutters open and blinked as sunlight streamed in through the window, a slight hiss of discomfort leaving his lips for a moment as his eyes adjusted from the comfortable darkness of his room to the brightness of the sun. Before, after several seconds of blinking and cursing, he managed to focus on the view outside the city.

There were a row of large, well-built, wealthy looking town houses opposite him, and looming up behind them he could see a giant, colossal tower in the distance.

"The Tower of Babel," Azoth muttered to himself, his memories from the last day flooding back to him.

Alduin had defeated him, he had awoken in a new realm of existence disconnected from both Akatosh and Meridia. All pretty standard stuff for the Dragonborn…

He had then toddled along to the nearby Dungeon City, Orario, and then went straight to the pub after having a run in with a short, yet busty goddess. After which he had met Mia Grand, had a friendly chat, and then met the pretty elf girl, Ryuu, flirted with her and got shot down. Still pretty by the books for him, especially the flirting with a fellow elf and the getting shot down bit. Unfortunately more often than not that happened to him, or at least it did when he tried it on with High Elves.

Either way after that he had then eaten some dinner, pretty good too from memory, and then gotten himself involved in a brawl with a different kind of werewolf than what he was used too.

Ah yes, Bete Loga.

He had then proceeded to kick the guy's arse, then gone on to swindle a half a dozen free drinks out of the other Adventurer and his mates.

With him having invaded their table and drunk himself silly with the members of the Loki Familia, at their expense, mostly listening to the stories of their adventures down in the Dungeon, and their bantering with one another. With him occasionally throwing out an anecdote or story of his own from; 'the far north', the place he had vaguely told them he had come from.

Again getting in a fight, and then getting drunk and making friends with said person, all pretty standard behaviour for him.

But yes, overall it had been a good, if somewhat strange, night.

Admittedly he hadn't spoken a huge amount about himself when with the Loki Familia, not with so many other big personalities surrounding him, like those two Amazon girls, Tiona and Tione, and the loud drunk dwarf, Gareth, and his equally drunk companion, Bete.

But still, he had listened a lot, his fascination with this new place and culture over taking his natural tendency to tell tall tales and brag a bit.

That said though, thinking on it now with a clearer head, it was probably a good thing that he did do such a thing. He remembered the way Loki had looked at him, he'd already got her attention, the last thing he wanted to do was encourage the tricky red head into pursuing him, or at least no more than his punch up with one of her Executives already had.

Divine Beings, from his experience, always tended to be pains in the arse, even the nice ones.

Sitting back down on his bed a few moments later, and rubbing his temples, Azoth, quickly began to remember all the things he had learned last night.

He had found out the different races that resided here in Orario.

The tanned, sexy, dark haired women he had seen, well they were apparently an entirely female race called 'Amazons',

The short stock men and women he had noticed, they were 'dwarfs'. Not the Dwemer he had heard of in Skyrim of course, after all he very much doubted that a dwarf would be amused if you referred to them as 'Deep Elves'. Or as just short stock humans for that matter. Though admittedly there were apparently exceptions as far as dwarfs being short and stocky went, Mia, despite being just a little short than him, was also a dwarf.

The animal people he had seen, well they were as varied as the animas in the animal kingdom, and apparently included the werewolves, like Bete Loga. And yes, that had been a bit of surprise. Werewolves here in this world were born, not made. Though admittedly a part of him did wonder if he could use his beast's blood to make another Werewolf like him, if the desire too, ever occurred to him? It was certainly be food for thought, even if he very much doubted he would ever have the inclination.

Shaking his head as his thoughts went off on a tangent, Azoth instead went back to thinking over what he had learned last night.

Oh yes, the blond child and Captain of the Loki Familia, Finn, it turned out he was not a child, like he had thought, but instead a forty something year old 'Pallum', which was a childlike human, or Halfling, a race that apparently had much longer lifespans then normal run of the mill humans.

Azoth scratched his chin at that.

Yes, he had picked up a lot of useful information, and got a lot of free drinks, and all in return for him offering very little. Though that was more due to the rowdier members of the Loki Familia distracting and talking over Finn, Riveria and Loki when they tried to question him. That and the trio in question also getting drunker and drunker as the night continued and they were plied with more and more booze.

"Which of course means that his is the Hostess of Fertilities guest room." Azoth muttered to himself.

He remembered now, after the Loki Familia had buggered off, he had been so hammered that Mia had told two of her waitresses to take him up here and let him spend the night.

Which, considering what he knew of the dwarf woman thus far, meant he would probably be shelling out a lot of gold later this morning when it came to squaring his debt with the woman.

Azoth let out another groan at that, even as he got up and headed for the door.

First things first, before he started worrying about his dwindling finances, he first needed to find out where in Oblivion his clothes had gotten too.

It was he stood up and turned towards the door though, that said door opened, and a grey haired human maid stepping into the room, Azoth's freshly washed and dried white padded shirt, and dark brown trousers in her hands.

"Morning…" Azoth said instinctively, blinking in surprise as the girl not only entered the room without knocking, but then proceeded to go bright, burning red, the neatly folded pile of clothing in her arms falling to the floor as she instead clasped her hand to her bright red face and let out a squeak of shock and embarrassment.

"Er…" Azoth continued, before he looked down and saw the problem. He was still fully naked, and had just given her a full frontal view of his 'Ebony Blade'. "Sorry about that!"

Quickly grabbing the pile of clothing off of the floor, Azoth, quickly pulled on his under garments and trousers, rapidly covering his modesty. After which he pulled on and buttoned up his freshly smelling padded white shirt.

"You can look now," Azoth then said to the still pink cheeked, and deliberately not looking, Syr, a slight smile on his face as he saw her peek through her hands, no doubt making sure he was indeed decent first, before putting them down. Her face still a fiery red colour as she struggled to maintain eye contact with him. "Sorry about that."

"I-It's f-fine, but M-Mister A-Azoth should know better than to flash a young maiden!" Syr replied back, starting off a little shaky and embarrassed, but quickly regaining her bluster as she finished off her attempt at scolding him, by giving him a stern look.

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right." Azoth allowed, flashing Syr a smile now, even as he saw a dusting of pink return to her cheeks. "But then again, you really should knock before entering a gentlemen's room…"

"I thought you were asleep!" Syr cried back defensively. "After the amount you drank last night, Mama Mia, said you'd probably be sleeping till at least late morning if not later!"

"Yeah, well I've a strong constitution!" Azoth replied, ruffling his messy, and slightly greasy white hair as he did so, before he sent her a smile. "Is there any chance of me having a bath or a wash, or something?"

"I-I can run you one, but you know Mama Mia is going to charge you extra for it don't you?" Syr replied, blinking in surprise at the upfront request before quickly recovering her bearing.

"I'd gathered as much," Azoth replied dryly, he had honestly expected as much from the kind, yet stingy dwarf, speaking of which, after a moment's thought he decided he had to know. "You don't happen to know exactly how much I already owe, do you?"

"Twenty three thousand valis, plus another four hundred for the bath." Syr rattled off promptly, making Azoth blink in surprise as she did so. "That's for the food, drinks, room and bath. She'll also expect you to buy a breakfast too, you know for the imposition of us having to put you to bed…"

"Ha! Well that's fair enough," Azoth nodded. "You don't happen to know how much that would be in gold do you?"

Syr shrugged in response to that.

"Never mind then." Azoth replied easily. "I'll probably head down and see Mia now then."

"You do that and I'll run you a bath, I'll call for you when it is done." Syr nodded, giving him a quick smile as she did so before she then bustled back down the hallway, only for to then pause for a moment as she reached the stairs to look back at him. "Oh and you can probably leave your armour and weapons in your room, at least until you check out, they'll be pretty safe there!"

Azoth nodded at that, even as Syr then disappeared from sight and he turned and pulled on his armoured boots, and then buckled his belt around his waist, his sword, Dawnbreaker, his pouch of gold coins and his Daedric dagger hanging off of the belt. It was just a shame he had lost his satchel full of potions and soul gems back when he had been fighting Alduin.

Heading downstairs a few minutes later, passing Syr on the way down, his axe and armour still in his room. Azoth quickly made it down to the main room of the tavern, only for him to see that it was much busier than he thought it would be, despite it only, apparently, being early in the morning.

"Adventurers getting a good breakfast in before heading down to the Dungeon." Mia called out to him from behind the bar, answering his question before he had a chance to ask it.

"Good morning, Mia." Azoth nodded, smiling at the brown haired dwarf as he did so, before he sidled over to the bar and took the same seat he had sat on the night before.

"Yes, a good morning indeed," Mia smiled, her eyes glinting in amusement as she then proceeded to place a large plate in front of him; a plate filled with sizzling sausages, a hunk of bread, and a chunk of cheese. "I hear you've already flashed one of my girls…?"

"Accidently." Azoth replied promptly, not batting an eye, or rising to her words for a moment. "And thanks for the breakfast."

"Aww, you're no fun! I had at least hoped to get a blush and a stutter from you." Mia sighed good-naturedly, leaning against the bar as she did so.

"I am not a child," Azoth replied dryly. He was a man, he had had lovers and was completely at ease with the opposite sex. Did Mia really think that he, a seasoned Adventurer and warrior in his twenties, would start stuttering and blushing like a child at the mildest of provocations? "The food's good by the way."

"I know it is." Mia grinned, even as he continued to wolf the food down. "So what do you have planned for the day, Azoth? I'll be honest after the amount you drank with the Loki Familia the other day I didn't think you'd be up until at least noon!"

"I'm no lightweight!" Azoth chuckled, swigging from the tankard of water that Mia had also put in front of him. "As for my plan. Well, first off I'll have a bath, and then I'll clear my tab with you…, speaking of which how much do I owe, in gold?"

"Straight to the point eh, I like it." Mia chuckled, shaking her head as she did so. "All things considered I'll let you off for twenty five gold coins."

"Seems reasonable." Azoth nodded, and honestly it did. Plus the bonus was that although it would hit his finances hard, it wouldn't completely impoverish him.

"Yeah, well it would have been a lot more if young Bete hadn't covered most of your drinks last night…" Mia chuckled again, shaking her head as she did so. "I tell you, you young Adventurers, you always find ways to surprise me. Not ten minutes earlier the two of you were at each other's throats, fighting, and by the end of the night you were the best of friends!"

"Meh, sometimes you just need a good fight to clear the air and break the ice." Azoth shrugged, polishing off his breakfast and then downing the last of his water as he did before he sat back stretched, and then yawned.

"So after your bath, what is it you plan on doing? Do you reckon you'll want to rent the room out for another night?" Mia pressed, taking the now empty plate and tankard and passing off to one of the cat girls, Anya or something, as she did so.

"No, I doubt it. I'll be heading to the Tower of Babel to see Hephaestus." Azoth replied, shaking his head as he did so, before sending Mia a smile. "But I'll be back here again, probably regularly. It's a good place, and I like the vibe. The staff aren't bad either…" Azoth sent Mia a wink as he said the last bit.

"Careful elf, you'll go breaking my girl's hearts if you keep acting like that…" Mia replied in amusement, her smile widening as she then leant forwards, and continued darky. "And if you went and did that, then I'll have no choice but to break you in turn…"

In response, instead of gulping or paling, Azoth, just sent her an amused smile. "Really, does that ever work?"

"You'd be surprised." Mia chuckled, shaking her head. "But come on, you really are no fun, you couldn't even give me a slight flinch?"

"Oh right, sorry." Azoth laughed, after which he put on a faux scared look and gave a dramatic flinch.

"That's more like it elf!" Mia laughed, slapping her large hand on the bar in amusement.

Azoth sent her a smile in return, even as he pulled out his coin pouch and started counting out what he owed.

"So Hephaestus eh, do you have something to present to her as an example of your craft?" Mia asked, taking and pocketing the gold he shoved over to her, an interested glint in her eyes as she then looked expectantly at the elf.

"Sure do," Azoth replied, unsheathing his Daedric knife and spinning it in his fingers with practiced ease, a showy trick, and one that had no real practicality in battle, but still, it looked pretty damned cool all the same.

Eyeing the dagger, Mia took it in her hands when it was offered to her and quickly began to examine it. "It's an odd design, not too gaudy, but a bit… I don't know, demonic looking, all the same. Still it's got a perfect edge, it's well balanced. Not sure what the metal is, but it feels light and yet still strong."

Azoth nodded as he heard her words, watching her closely as she examined the dagger carefully, testing the edge with her thumb, after which she took a few practice slashes and stabs with it.

"Enchanted?" Mia asked, looking down at her hands as she did so. "I can feel the tingle of magic in my hands, it's odd though, a bit different to the magic swords I've wielded before back when I was an Adventurer. It feels colder in my hands, and the magic it's giving off, it feels… odd, it's hard to describe."

"That's probably because that dagger was probably made in a very different way to the magic weapons that are created here in Orario, and using different metals and ingredients too." Azoth shrugged, not batting an eye at her admittance to having once been an Adventurer. It had been pretty obvious. Instead he took his knife back, when offered, and sheathed it back in his belt.

"A new kind of Smithing eh, I'm guess that's from the far north?" Mia asked, as she folded her arms, her eyes narrowing shrewdly as she met the Snow Elf's intense gaze head on.

Azoth's lip quirked upwards as he heard that. "You know it!"

Mia grinned again. "You do like appearing mysterious don't you, elf?"

"Of course I do, dwarf." Azoth shot back, "Where would the fun be otherwise?"

Mia laughed out loud at that response. "You have a bit of spine in you, don't you, Azoth!? I have to say I like that, all too often kids nowadays are too nervous and too soft!"

Azoth sent her another wry smile at that comment, but said no more, instead he looked over to the stairs, his attention drawn to Syr as she bustled down the stairs and looked over at him. "I've drawn a bath for you, Azoth, you should probably get in there now whilst it's still hot!"

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Azoth nodded, pushing himself off of his seat as he started making for the stairs, giving Mia a nod and a grin as he did so, and Syr a wink as he passed, his grin getting more devilish as her noticed her cheeks once again going a bit pink.

It was time to tidy himself up and have a wash, after all it was not every day that you met a goddess.

**( - )**

**(Sometime later)**

Leaving the Hostess of Fertility an hour or so later, Azoth, once again strode through the streets of Orario, his weapons once again sheathed on his back and waist, and his armour covering his form, save of course for his helmet which he instead just held at his side in one hand.

After having bathed he had done his best to clean his arm, scrubbing away the grim and blood that had encrusted the joints and which had filled the many cracks, gouges and scratches that covered the once gleaming set of Ebony armour.

It hadn't done much good, the armour was all but ruined, and although it did admittedly give him a more ferocious and intimidating aura, it was no longer up to the job of properly protecting him.

After cleaning out some of the deeper gouges and gashes in the armour, and then putting it on, he had been startled to see that the white of his padded shirt could be seen in several places. This alone had set his heart racing as he saw evidence of just how close to death he had come in his battle with Alduin.

Still, despite the armour no longer be fit for purpose he had still pulled it on and buckled it up with practiced ease. After which he had strapped Dawnbreaker and his Daedric dagger to his belt, and Wuuthrad to his back, and then stepped outside, pausing only long enough to give Mia and the other waitresses that were working today a quick farewell.

Noticeably Ryuu had not been among their number.

This all led him to where he currently was, forging his way through the packed streets of Orario, passing by merchants selling their wares and groups of armed and armoured Adventurers who were heading down to the Dungeon, his helmet held under one arm, whilst his other hand rested absentmindedly on the hilt of his sword.

Noticeably, the people he passed in the street were occasionally looking at him, and not just because he was a tall, white haired elf wearing a set of ravaged black armour.

No, some of them were looking at him and muttering to one another as he passed, almost as if they recognised him.

Shifting his head as he headed for the nearby tower, Azoth, couldn't help but try to listen in on what some of the people were saying.

"You heard me, that guy, the armour elf over there, he fought with Vanargand from the Loki Familia. He beat him too from what my mate told me!"

"Hey you see that elf, I heard from a friend of mine that he and Bete Loga, you know that Level Five wolf guy from the Loki Familia, yeah that guy, yeah they apparently threw down outside the Hostess of Fertilty last night! Heard it was brutal!"

"Apparently he is a First Class Adventurer from out of the city, yeah I know, I thought that was impossible too!"

"I'm telling you right now, I was there and I saw it, that guy has a skill or something that turned him into a massive wolf, and no I was not high on mushrooms! Ok well I had had a couple, but I know what I saw!"

Rolling his neck, Azoth, grinned to himself even as he waded through the thronging crowd and began walking up the steps to the colossal tower in front of him.

Turns out he had already started getting a reputation, despite him having only been in the city for a single night.

But hey, what was new?

He was the Dragonborn, the Chosen of Akatosh, the ultimate dragon slayer, the bane of the undead and the Champion of Meridia. In the five years he'd been adventuring he had long since gotten used to the fame and adulation his feats gained him.

It was one of the perks of being him!

Nor would he have it any other way. He was no tragic hero who fought against evil and went on quests for no other reason than it being the right thing to do.

Screw that, he was an Adventurer, not a saint! Sure he did many good deeds and was even charitable at times, but he always had a reason for whatever he did; fame, adulation, women, money, weapons, magic grimoires etc. He did good things, but not for free, but for reward.

And why shouldn't he, he might be a hero, but did people honestly expect him to risk his life for no reason? Was that a reasonable expectation?

Shaking his head at that thought, Azoth, instead came to a stop just in front of the tower, a slight frown on his face as he leant back and looked up at the monumental tower in front of him.

It was eerie, but for just a moment he had felt like someone, or something, was watching him, and he wasn't talking about the people passing him by, some of whom still stopped and stared or muttered to their companions about him and his run in with the Loki Familia the other day.

No, this was something else.

The only thing he could liken it to was when he felt the eyes of his patron on him when he was raiding some ancient tomb and killing off all manner of Draugr and undead beings.

Whatever it was that was watching him, it was powerful, and almost certainly divine. More than though, it was not entirely benevolent; just amused, curious and dare he say it, hungry…

"Probably some god or something." Azoth muttered under his breath. He had only met two thus far, Hestia and Loki, and although those two played around at being 'human', and appeared benevolent enough. He was not fool enough to think that all the gods and goddesses that had descended to the mortal world had good intentions.

Divine beings were capricious, alien creatures. Despite what they might say, or how they might act, Azoth knew better than to take them at face value. He had met enough Daedric Princes to know that not all Divine Beings were good.

Looking up at the tower, Azoth, felt the gaze leave him a few moments later, even as he narrowed his violet eyes, scanning the many windows and balconies that jutted out from the hundreds of metre tall tower.

Shaking his head at this, Azoth, pushed his concern about nosey gods aside for the moment, and instead continued on up the steps.

He was about to meet a goddess as is, he didn't need, or want for that matter, to start worrying about what some meddlesome deity might or might not be up too, not at the moment anyway.

With that thought in mind he walked to the entrance to the tower, walking alongside a number of other mages and warriors as they entered through the colossal doors overhead. His violet eyes flicking to his right as he entered and then noticed a pair of oddly dressed humans; both of whom were wearing white, smart shirts, black cotton trousers, and what looked like black, sleeveless, form fitting, button up tunics over the tops of their shirts.

They looked pretty smartly dressed, it was a good look.

Either way, these two human, one a man and the other a woman, seemed to be monitoring those entering the Dungeon. One or other of them occasionally picking out someone at random and questioning them, before sending them on their way.

"Guild officials, maybe?" Azoth mused to himself.

Mia had told him about the Guild, the large group that oversaw the management of the city, the Dungeon, and the different Familia's that inhabited the city. A very important and influential positon to have, especially because the Guild acted as the city's bank too, and cashed in monster soul gems and 'drop items' for 'valis', and also leant out money to new Familia and Adventurers, with interest tagged on.

Thinking on it now even as he began to walk towards the duo, both of whom froze up and began to look nervous as the heavily built, armoured Snow Elf, complete with intimidating weapons and a scar across his face, approached them, the entire of Orario was effectively one big Warrior's Guild.

The Familia's were different cliques within the Guild, but all of them still paid dues, and still did what was asked of them by the Guild.

It honestly was a pretty interesting concept. An entire society based off of the concept of a single, large, overarching Guild.

And apparently it was a model that had worked for over a thousand years now.

"Excuse me, you two humans!" Azoth called out, a friendly smile on his face as he approached the nervous pair.

"E-erm, how can the Guild help, sir?" The female Guild worker, a pretty human girl, with odd pink coloured hair, asked.

"I'm new to the city, but am already an Adventurer." Azoth began bluntly, getting straight to the point now, after all he didn't want to waste either their time or his. "That said being new to the city, and recently Familia-less, I am here to see the Goddess Hephaestus, up on the fourth floor."

"Oh, ok," The pink haired human nodded, seemingly calming down now she knew Azoth wasn't going to snap or shout at her for one reason or another. "Well you are more than welcome to head on up to the Fourth Floor, Goddess Hephaestus is usually in one of her shops on that floor, or in her private workshop. I'll send word up that you're coming."

"I appreciate it," Azoth nodded, once again smiling down at the short woman. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The girl replied, giving him a little bow now, even as he turned and walked passed her, not heading for the Dungeon like the majority of the crowd, but instead heading up the stairs with a dozen or so others.

As he did so, he couldn't help but hear, courtesy of his werewolf enhanced hearing, the girl turn and mutter to her colleague.

"Wow that guy was scary. But seriously do you think it's him, the one who had a punch up in the streets last night?"

"Maybe, if he is though I wouldn't want to be the one to give him the official warning from the Guild about fighting in public places…" Her male companion replied, his own voice noticeably more nervous that hers.

Grunting as he heard this, Azoth couldn't help but roll his eyes. Pointless bureaucracy. Apparently it existed even here, in another plane of existence.

Still, he wouldn't kick up a fuss over something as insignificant as a verbal warning about misbehaving in public. If he had a gold coin for every time a hold guard had warned him, he probably would have had enough gold to buy a palatial town house in Solitude by now.

**( - )**

**(A few minutes later)**

Stepping out of the stairwell on the Fourth Floor of the Tower of Babel, Azoth's violet eyes widened slightly as he suddenly found himself standing in what looked like another city high-street, and an upmarket Solitude type one at that.

The floor was massive, and the corridor running through it was wide enough for two wagons next to one another to ride down quite comfortably.

In fact the only thing that stopped this from being a classy, upmarket high-street at night, was stone roof overhead, the presence of which necessitated the flaming torches and glowing magic lights that dotted the walls and lit up the store windows. All of which gave the floor a pretty distinct vibe.

Crossing the hallway, Azoth's eyes flicked back and forth as he saw dozens of shoppers of all different races moving around, some in couples, some in groups, and some just by themselves. But all of them still looking wealthy and very well to do, even as they browsed the different stores fronts.

Stepping through these crowds of punters, his natural size and intimidating armour parting the throngs of shoppers around him, Azoth came to a stop in front of the grandest and most impressive looking of the shops in his immediate vicinity.

Just looking through the window, Azoth, could feel his throat constrict slightly. Weapons of all different kinds were displaced within, alongside elegant looking staffs, beautiful jewellery and gleaming armour. Much of which was studded with jewels, or embossed, or plated with gleaming gold or silver.

Narrowing his eyes as he looked closer, Azoth, with the expert eye of a Master Blacksmith quickly started analysing the different weapons that were being shown, ignoring the price tags, most of which showed prices which were in the millions, as he instead focused on the shape of the weapons and on the minute rune like writing he could see on some of the items.

From initial observation the weapons all looked well-formed and well crafted, despite the excessive gaudiness of some of the decorations.

Of course he couldn't tell whether they were in fact strong and well-built from just a glance, but he assumed, based on the fact that the Goddess of Smithing owned the floor and thus the shop, that nothing less than the most peerless of weapons and armour would be displayed in her grandest store.

It was all very showy, and obviously, based off of the price tags and the number of Adventurers on this floor he could see wearing expensive looking weapons, quite the prosperous business.

That said showy, gaudy things were never really Azoth's forte. Sure he could do it if he had too, but mostly when he forging and crafting, he focused on practicality and utility above all else.

A weapon was a tool, no more and no less. It was an instrument of death, one which could be used to both defend and attack.

Prettying it up was all well and good, but only if the tool could still do the job it was created for.

A sword, in Azoth's mind, was something that should never be relegated to piece of art, something that could just be hung up on a wall to look pretty and gather dust!

No, it was something that should be used. Something you shouldn't be afraid of battering and breaking, so long as it fulfils the purpose it was created for!

"Ah excuse me, is sir just browsing, or is he looking to buy a new set of armour?" A naturally soft and sweet, but still strong and confident voice called out, attracting Azoth's attention as he looked sideways and saw a small, childlike girl looking up at him, a Pallum he suspected from initial observation.

"Ah no, I'm afraid not…. Er?" Azoth replied, turning to face the girl fully as he did so. His violet eyes taking in her small, yet noticeably mature frame, her short, collar length pink hair, hazel brown eyes and cherubic features.

"Lisbeth." The now named Lisbeth replied, her hands on her hips as the four foot something girl looked up at him curiously, her hazel brown eyes regarding his armour and weapons before focusing in on his face.

The girl was noticeably wearing a smart, red dress with puffed up sleeves and red ribbons on it, a dress that just about covered her knees and which wasn't obscenely tight like something an Amazon would wear, over the top of which she had a leather apron, like something a blacksmith would wear.

The two items contrasted quite oddly, or at least in Azoth's mind.

"I'm a member of the Hephaestus Familia, and one of the Smiths that are now, not only allowed to sell my works in one of the shops on Fourth Floor, but am also allowed to put Hephaestus's mark on my best works!" Lisbeth added on somewhat defensively, the short, pinked hair Pallum, shifting slightly under Azoth's curious gaze. No doubt she thought he was judging her, or looking down on her, either due to her perceived age, or small stature.

"Pleasure," Azoth said after a moment, blinking slightly as he noticed that he was staring. It wasn't like he was trying to be rude or anything, he'd just been a bit taken aback by the girl's abrupt arrival and question. "The name's Azoth, and no, I am not here to buy anything or to replace my armour."

"Oh," Lisbeth replied swiftly, ignoring his introduction as she instead focused on the last words he had spoken, her eyes noticeably narrowing. "Why are you here then?" Azoth opened his mouth to reply to that, only to be cut off before he could as Lisbeth forged on. "Oh and I'll warn you now, Lady Hephaestus, very rarely buys other Smith's works, and even then she'd only buy the most exceptional of items, so if you're here to sell something then I really wouldn't bother!"

The girl's tone, although not rude, was distinctly blunt as she glanced at the sheathed sword at Azoth's hip, and the large axe on his back. Her hazel eyes narrowing slightly as she no doubt noticed the glowing jewel that was embedded in Dawnbreaker's cross guard.

"Ha, well I am afraid that Hephaestus wouldn't be able to afford either my axe or my sword, even if I were willing to sell them." Azoth chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, and not taking offense in the slightest at the girl's words.

"Lady Hephaestus," Lisbeth corrected sharply, her cheeks puffing up slightly as she once again placed her small hands on her narrow hips and scowled up at Azoth. "And don't get too cocky, you might have a magic weapon or two, but Lady Hephaestus is the Goddess of Smithing, it takes a lot to even gain her interest, let alone impress her!"

"Noted," Azoth nodded, a bemused smile spreading across his face as the tiny, fiery tempered girl scolded him. This was certainly not how he had expected his day to go. "But no, I am actually here to see your Lady Hephaestus, I was hoping to join her Familia."

"Huh," Lisbeth hummed, her gaze turning more analytical now as she eyed, Azoth, up and down. "Well you're welcome to try. I'll take you to her now in fact, she's in the back of the shop. But I should warn you too. She only accepts the best of the best. You might have been a good Smith in whatever town or village you came from, but this is Orario, the big city. So, yeah, you know, don't get your hopes up!"

"Thanks for the words of encouragement." Azoth replied dryly, once again taken aback by the odd, childlike girl's attitude, even as she turned around and headed into the shop.

"Well come on then, I'll take you to her." Lisbeth called back over her shoulder at him, even as she entered the shop and nonchalantly strode past the different displays, salespeople and shoppers. The pink haired Pallum instead heading for a large, metal studded, wooden door at the back.

"Right," Azoth muttered, a bemused smile still playing around his face, even as he entered the shop, and ignored the attention he seemed to get as he too headed for the door, and the impatient looking girl next to it.

It was time for him to meet this, Goddess Hephaestus.

**( - )**

**(At The Twilight Manor, the home of the Loki Familia)**

Rolling over in his bed, a loud groan of pain issued forth from Bete Loga's mouth, even as he leant over the side of his bed and hurled. The sound of retching and spattering of sick hitting the bottom of a bucket sounding out throughout the room and beyond, as he yet again started groaning and complaining, both about drinking too much; shitty elves, tomatoes and his throbbing headache.

Far below the werewolf's room, sitting around an austere room with green leather sofas, book filled bookcases, and polished, expensive looking tables and chairs, were three other members of the Loki Familia, and their goddess herself, Loki.

All three of them currently tuning out the sounds of the ill werewolf upstairs, as they instead took sips from their delicate cups of tea.

"Poor old Bete, he really can't handle his drink can he, eh!" Loki cackled loudly, her red eyes flickering over to Gareth who she knew had drunk probably twice as much as Bete had last night, and yet was sitting here looking perfectly relaxed and well.

"He's still young, and prone to getting overexcited." Gareth chuckled, stroking his beard in amusement as he heard the Familia's two Amazon twins laughter sounding out from above, the two mischievous girls no doubt already heading up to tease the hungover werewolf. "He'll grow out of it soon enough."

"You know, if you gave him a potion, Riveria, then you could save him from his current torment?" Finn mused from nearby, taking a sip of his own tea, even as he looked over at the tall, coldly beautiful, High Elf opposite him.

"How would he ever learn if I did that? Hopefully the pain of dealing with his hangover will teach him to know his limits in the future." Riveria replied calmly.

"Ouch, cold." Gareth laughed again, shaking his head at the green haired elf's actions.

"Haha, that's just like you, mama!" Loki cackled joyfully.

"Don't call me that," Riveria shot back at the mischievous red haired goddess.

"Well," Finn spoke up, changing the topic of the conversation now, even as he saw Loki's red eyes gleam with glee as she turned to Riveria. No doubt the immature goddess was on the verge of causing the elf more trouble. "I think it is time we start talking about this Azoth character that we met last night."

"The elf," Gareth nodded. "He was pretty tight-lipped about himself last night wasn't he?"

"I'm surprised you noticed Gareth, what with how much you were drinking last night?" Riveria shot back, her tone slightly acerbic.

"Haha, well yeah, sorry about that. The kids were having fun, and were being a bad influence on me." Gareth chuckled slightly in response, his face going slightly pink at Riveria's light admonishment.

"Even so you are right, Azoth, let very little slip about himself last night. From what I saw he was more interested in questioning us, than in giving up too much about himself." Finn cut in, his young looking face furrowing into a slight frown.

"That does not necessarily mean that he may wish us harm. From what I saw he was a reckless, but still pleasant man." Riveria finally spoke up, her tone lightening as she did so.

"Yeah, he didn't seem bad." Gareth nodded. "In fact I would say he was a good guy, and I'm usually a pretty good judge of character!"

"Hmm maybe, but still, his existence makes me worried." Finn replied, putting his tea down now and rubbing his thumb slightly as he did so. "I find it odd that a person like that, even if he did come from the 'far north', could exist in this world without any of us at least hearing about him…"

"The world is a big place." Gareth shrugged. "I doubt even the gods know all of its secrets."

"What do you think, Loki?" Riveria pressed, looking to their goddess now, who for once looked slightly serious.

"I agree with Finn, there is something, odd, about Azoth, and I don't just mean his name. There is something almost, unnatural, about him." Loki said after a few moments.

"So we keep an eye out for him, and if or when we do deal with him, we make sure he isn't up to no good?" Gareth concluded, a frown on his face at the thought of treating the friendly elf like that.

"I wouldn't go that far, but I would say that we should at least be cautious when dealing with him, or at least for now, or until we get to know him better." Finn replied, raising his thumb as he did so. "My thumb didn't ache when I met him. But even so, I think it would pay to be at least a little cautious when dealing with him."

"I would agree." Riveria nodded, "He could either be a potential ally or a possible enemy, until we know for sure we should step lightly around him."

As Riveria said this, a sudden roar of anger sounded out over head, even as the sound of the Amazon sister's laughter and loud fottsteps rang out quite soon after.

"Ha! Poor Bete!" Gareth chuckled, shaking his head at the Amazon sisters' antics as he did so.

**( - )**

**(On the top floor of the Tower of Babel)**

Sitting back in her throne like chair, Freya, the Goddess of Beauty, couldn't tear her gaze away from the city below.

Just moments ago she had seen the strangest, and yet most beautiful and enthralling soul she had ever seen before.

Where most souls, all of them until now actually, had a single colour. Its shade and vibrancy depending on the individual's strength of will, potential, personality and past lives. This new soul, it was one that she had never seen the life of before, it was different than anything she had ever seen or felt before.

The soul was immensely powerful and bright, that much was obvious.

But more than that, it was kaleidoscopic. Instead of being just one colour, it instead was made up of tens, no hundreds of different dazzling, bright colours and shades. All of which were combined into an ever swirling mass of vibrant, shining colour within this being's body.

Honestly, she doubted she could ever, even in this mortal's life and her immortal life, pick apart all the different colours and shades that made up this man's soul. They were so fused together, and swirling and shifting around so chaotically within him, that she genuinely found it difficult to tear her gaze away from him.

This entity, this being, whatever he was. Was unique, truly unique, a once in a lifetime gem.

From just the glimpse she had seen of this white haired elf in her mirror, she had fallen in love.

How could she not?

This elf, he had a soul like no other.

A coy smile spread across Freya's lips at that thought.

This elf would be the prize jewel of her Familia, her collection. The single most valuable and priceless soul she would ever take, and who knows, maybe he might even be the one to truly steal her heart once and for all, just as she was going to steal his.

Freya's smile widened at that thought, her violet eyes practically glowing in the gloom of her room, even as she continued to stare hungrily down at the city below.

She couldn't wait to see that elf again, just so she could bask in the glorious, unnaturalness of his kaleidoscopic soul!

**( - )**

**AN: So we're finally out of the tavern and on the move again! Next chapter, the talk with Hephaestus and whatever follows. I'll admit I was tempted to include that interaction in this chapter, but then I decided, with this being an important meeting and Azoth's first proper interaction with a god, that it deserved more than being squashed hurriedly into the end of a chapter.**

**Even so I am quite looking forward to writing it, and to developing the world of Danmachi and the characters within it, before canon characters and additional characters I will be bringing in.**

**Even so I hope you did enjoy the chapter, even if there was not as much action as the last chapter. Still we did get to see some things from both the Loki Familia and Freya, oh I wonder what she might be up too?**

**That said next chapter should be exciting, as should the ones after that, as although I will have Azoth impact on both the events of Bell's adventure within the Danmachi verse, and the Sword Oratoria storyline, I will also have him going off and doing his own thing. After all he has his own aims and desires, and although he'll be involved in some prominent events, he will still very much be his own independent character who will have his own adventure. **

**After all that damned One-Eyed Black Dragon, Alduin, isn't going to kill himself!**

**Thanks a lot for reading, I really do hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review!**

**Please do check out my other stories if you have the time or interest. **

**Thanks a lot for reading, and I'll catch you later.**

**Greed720.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: So hey all! Again the response to this story has been amazing, thanks again for that I really do appreciate it! With that in mind I managed to get the next chapter out, so I hope you all enjoy it and leave a review! Also again, feel free to PM me if you have any questions and what not, I am usually good at answer those.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter, and thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scolls or Danmachi.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_This elf would be the prize jewel of her Familia, her collection. The single most valuable and priceless soul she would ever take, and who knows, maybe he might even be the one to truly steal her heart once and for all, just as she was going to steal his._

_Freya's smile widened at that thought, her violet eyes practically glowing in the gloom of her room, even as she continued to stare hungrily down at the city below. _

_She couldn't wait to see that elf again, just so she could bask in the glorious, unnaturalness of his kaleidoscopic soul!_

**( - )**

**Chapter 6**

**( - )**

**(With Azoth)**

The room at the back of the shop was large and dimly lit. The only light in the room seemed to come from a large forge at the far end of the room. With the deep red glow emanating from the forge casting ominous shadows on the walls.

Stepping inside, the door closing behind him with a dull thud, Azoth, couldn't help but look around the room in slight wonder. The walls of the room were covered in a multitude of wooden racks, some of which he could see held gleaming weapons of all shapes, sizes and styles. Azoth was even able to catch sight of a curved, single edged blade that looked startlingly similar to the Akaviri style swords the dragon slaying group, 'The Blades', traditionally wielded.

Looking around at the rest of the wall, Azoth, spied out several armour pieces; such as gauntlets, padrones, full suits and breastplate; both light and heavy, and of all different metals and styles.

Also, along another wall of the room, just next to the forge, he could entire an entire rack that was filled with the tools of the trade. Including, oddly enough, one hammer, that, instead of having a metal head like most hammers, instead had a head which seemed to be made of a single jagged purple crystal.

It was unusual, but considering that the goddess who used this forge was the, Goddess of Smith, he decided he would give her the benefit of the doubt. Considering she had an eternities worth of experience working a forge, she likely trumped his own five years of experience, even if he was, in his own, humble opinion, a prodigy.

"What is it? I thought I had said that I was not to be disturbed!" A strong, confident voice sounded out form the far end of the room, her voice audible over the crackle of the fire in the forge, and the occasional ringing sound of metal on metal.

Looking over to the forge, Azoth, quickly found the source of the voice.

It was a strikingly beautiful red haired woman, who at present was wearing a soot stained white shirt, a pair of tight black trouser, and a dark, leather apron.

Unfortunately though that was all he could see of them slim, redhead thus far, as currently the woman had her back to him, her attention instead on a glowing bar of metal in front of her, a large hammer in her hands as she struck the glowing metal again and again. The movements of her hammer causing the shadows on the wall all around her to shift and twist with her every strike.

"I was not aware, but still, I am sorry to have disturbed you." Azoth replied, stepping deeper into the room, his violet eyes still flicking this way and that as he eyed up the many finished weapons on the walls, and the occasional moulds of weapons that the goddess had yet to build.

They all looked pretty beautiful.

Hearing his voice, the red haired smith paused in her actions for a moment, before without a word she stood up, placing her hammer down on a nearby side table, as she instead thrust the glowing bar of metal into a bucket of water. The water instantly exploding with a loud hiss, and a number of wisps of steam.

"I don't recognise your voice." Hephaestus said softly, still not looking at Azoth as she instead brought the quenched bar of steel up to her face, no doubt inspecting it with her practiced gaze, no doubt looking to see if any weaknesses had formed in the metal. "Why are you here?"

"I want to join your Familia." Azoth said bluntly, waiting patiently as the tall, lithe redhead continued to inspect the metal bar, before, without a word she laid it down on the same table she had placed her hammer.

Tilting his head at this, Azoth watched the woman's profile, admiring the shape of her face and body.

She was gorgeous, almost inhumanly so, which was ironic considering she wore the form of a human, just like the rest of her kin.

Which, thinking back on it now, was something that he felt was a bit of an odd choice? Why did the gods choose to copy human form? Why not one of the fairer races, like the elves? Or the stronger, hardier races like the dwarfs or one of the animal people? Why humans?

Not that he had anything against humans of course. No he had lain with human women, just like he had with elf women and even at one point a Khajiit woman. Suffice to say, that had been an unusual experience. Still he was not as prejudice as the other elves, his rough upbringing and his multitude of friends and companions of all races had assured that much.

That said though, if given the choice, he would say he preferred the more delicate, and fairer features of elves, more than he did the homely looks of humans. Though that was just in a physical sense. Azoth knew, just as most of the residents of Skyrim, that where elves were concern beauty was sometimes only skin deep. He had met the Thalmor after all.

Still, in spite of his personal, superficial preferences, a beautiful woman was a beautiful woman. It was an immutable fact, and the black leather eye patch she had covering her right eye and a part of her face, instead of taking away from her beauty it in fact added a bit of mystic to it.

Smiling slightly, Azoth, would say he was pretty interested, even if the goddess in question seemed oblivious to his inner thoughts.

"Oh do you?" Hephaestus said lightly, fully facing Azoth now, her single visible eye narrowing as she began to approach him, her gaze moving up and down his armour form, noticeably taking in the glowing hilt of the sword at his hip.

"Yes," Azoth nodded, pulling his mind back to the here and now. He was here to speak to his goddess and request a place in her Familia, he wasn't here just to admire her appearance, nor to attempt to bed her. "I recently arrived in the city, and have been looking for a Familia to join. After a bit of looking around and research, I came to the conclusion that your Familia, the Hephaestus Familia, would be the best fit for me!"

"Oh did you?" Hephaestus replied, her lips twitching upwards in amusement now, even as she walked over to a nearby wall, and with a bit of fiddling activated a magical lantern, brightening up the room, enough for the both of them to fully make out what the other looked like.

Narrowing her eye at the sight of him, Hephaestus crossed the distance between them in moments. The tall, yet still shorter than him, woman reaching out without a word as she began to inspect his armour, like an expert might appraise an item that had their momentary interest. Her hands lightly tracing the large rents in the breast plate and on the cauldrons, even as slight shimmer like film formed over the metal at her touch. Evidence of the enchantments that had been laid up on.

"This is odd, this armour has been enchanted, but in way I have never seen before." The redhead mused to herself, her hands continuing to examine the armour as she spoke, her every touch causing the minute runes inscribed on the armour plates to light up faintly. "The metals it is made up of too, some of them are unfamiliar, and the technique used to forge it… Again, from a first glance it doesn't seem like something that I have seen before, how odd..."

"I made it myself, and it has served me very well. Unfortunately though I picked a fight with a foe that was far stronger than I thought he was. The damage done to my armour is evidence enough of how close my foe came to killing me." Azoth said lightly, not stopping the inquisitive goddess as she continued to look at and examine his armour.

The scent coming off of her, of both fire, smoke and oddly cinnamon, filling his nose.

"You made this?" Hephaestus asked, stepping back now, her single eye locking with his own.

"Yes," Azoth nodded. "I finished it about three months ago, a replacement for an older set I had made previously, and one with more, and stronger enchantments, on it than my previous set."

Hephaestus nodded at that, seemingly taking him at his word. "What is your name?"

"The name's Azoth." Azoth replied with a slight grin. "And like I said, I am new to the city. I'm not new to Adventuring though, as you might have guessed. No, before coming here I was the Champion of another goddess, Meridia, and the only member of her… I guess you could say, Familia."

"Meridia, it's not a name I'm familiar with. Still, what did you mean when you said that you 'were' a member of her Familia?" Hephaestus asked.

"I meant it in the fact that I am a member no longer. Meridia is in the heavens, and I've have been cut loose." Azoth shrugged, telling a half-truth here, as despite requesting membership into this goddess's Familia, he didn't know her, or trust her enough, to tell her his entire life story.

"I see," Hephaestus said with a nod, her gaze shifting down to the sheathed sword at his side, and the axe on his back. "There is a strength to your presence, and, judging by what I have seen of the quality of you armour, and likely the quality of your weapons too…, well to me, all of these suggest that you are a First Class Adventurer."

"Most probably, I can't say I am aware of my current status though." Azoth shrugged.

"Hmm," Hephaestus hummed, stepping forward once more, only now she wasn't looking at his armour, but instead into his face. "An albino elf, wearing masterfully crafted enchanted armour and wielding magic weapons. I would have thought that an Adventurer of your strength and stature would be well known, even if you are new to Orario like you say."

"The world is a big place." Azoth shrugged easily. "And I always liked roaming around."

"But not anymore?" Hephaestus asked lightly.

"No, not for the moment." Azoth confirmed before he paused and gave Hephaestus a speculative look. "I have a goal at the moment. I want to forge myself a new set of armour, better than my current one. On top of that I want to get stronger than I am at the moment. For that reason I want to join your Familia, so I can work and experiment with material in a forge and have access to the equipment and tools I want, and also so I can join the other members of your Familia in supporting the Freya and Loki Familia's when they go down to the deeper floors of the Dungeon."

Hephaestus nodded in response to this, her expression curious and not at all offended as he explained quite bluntly his reason for wanting to join her Familia. Making it clear that her Familia was a means to an end, or at least for the moment.

Then again Hephaestus was probably used to selfish mortals by this point, and probably knew that everyone that had joined her Familia had had a reason for doing so, a reason beyond just becoming a member of her family.

"You're blunt, and pretty upfront, I like that. On top of that you've not lied to me once during this conversation. Half-truths yes, but you've not lied to me." Hephaestus finally said after a few moments of contemplation.

Azoth cocked an eyebrow as he heard that, a surprised and curious expression on his face.

"You clearly don't know, but gods can tell when mortals are lying to them." Hephaestus said in answer to his unasked question.

"Useful skill," Azoth said dryly.

"I know," the redhead smiled, before with a slight hum she brought her hand up to her mouth and continued to eye Azoth speculatively. "Now tell me, Azoth, you mentioned wanting to get stronger and wanting to forge a new set of armour. That is something I can understand, and can respect, and support you on. But you never told me why?"

"To challenge the bastard that did this to me, and kill him." Azoth said bluntly, gesturing to the mangled remains of his armour as he did so.

"And who is this 'bastard'? I hope it is a monster and not another Adventurer, because I will tell you right here and now; I will not allow you into this Familia if you are planning on challenging and killing a member of another Familia and starting a war!" Hephaestus replied, her tone turning firmer and sharper as she did so.

"You don't have to worry about that." Azoth replied, waving her concerns away. "My foe is indeed a monster, a giant, One-Eyed Black Dragon, I believe you should know his name?"

"Alduin…" Hephaestus whispered, her face suddenly going taught, even as her now folded arms visibly tightened. "The last of the Three Great Beasts, and the most powerful!"

"Indeed," Azoth nodded curtly, locking eyes with her now. "I fought Alduin not to long ago, and I wounded him. But alas, despite that I was not able to beat him. Instead he beat me, and then flung me away into the ether and disappeared to who knows where. When I awoke, injured and broken, I was only a few miles from Orario."

Hephaestus opened her mouth at that, but no sound came out, instead she just gazed at him with a mixture of shock, awe and was that possibly concern?

"If you can tell when mortals are lying like you say, then you should know that everything I told you just now, was the truth." Azoth said bluntly.

Hephaestus closed her mouth and nodded.

"So that is my goal, I want to get stronger, strong enough to hunt down and kill Alduin the World Eater once and for all!" Azoth stated, standing taller as he did so. A sudden fire burning through his veins as he vocalised his goal. "So what do you say, will you let me join your Familia?"

Noticeably, Hephaestus, didn't reply at first, instead she continued to give him a sharp, analysing look. Her gaze roving over his armour and weapons, and then back to his face. There was an inscrutable gleam in her eye as she did this, a look that left Azoth uncomfortable.

He honestly didn't know what this goddess was thinking.

As the seconds stretched on and nearly a minute passed though, Hephaestus, finally spoke up.

"I will allow you to become a member of my Familia, Azoth." The red head said slowly and carefully.

Azoth grinned as he heard that, already he could feel his mind racing as he thought about what he wanted to do first.

"But first I want to see an example of your work. Your armour, although probably once magnificent, is too damaged for me to properly examine and fairly judge." Hephaestus said lightly, cutting off any celebration on Azoth's part. "It is the way I do things. Regardless of what I have seen and heard from you, and the feats you might have accomplished. A person can only become a member of my Familia if they can impress me with their craft!"

Azoth, instead of being offended or irritated, just shrugged and grinned. After talking with Mia he had expected this much.

With that in mind he placed his Ebony Helmet under one of his arms, and then unsheathed the Daedric Dagger from his belt, once again twirling it through his fingers with ease before he offered it to the redhead handle first.

"This is a dagger I forged for myself a few weeks ago. It's got two enchantments on it, one which allows it to absorb magic, and another that will cause temporary paralysis." Azoth said, giving a brief description of the enchantments on the blade, even as Hephaestus took it from him, and began to examine it closely.

"The metal this is made of, what ore is it?" She asked, carefully running a finger down the blade, testing the edge, after which she brought it up to her eye and sighted down the edge, testing for any rolls, nicks, notches or bends in the blade.

"It's made of ebony ore, the same metal that my armour is made out of." Azoth replied easily, watching the goddess marvel over the construction of the dagger. It was indeed a pretty nice piece of work, not his best of course, but still excellent.

"It's surprisingly light, but has a formidable edge to it. The durability of it too, it's not indestructible like a Durandal blade but it is still remarkable strong. But there is something more to this, this isn't like a normal magic blade, the way it has been enchanted is different, and the method of its construction…" Hephaestus trailed off here, her brow furrowed in consternation. "It's like nothing I've seen before."

"The materials I used for it are pretty rare. The ore that went into it, and the powerful monster heart that was used in its crafting. A monster whose blood was used to quench the blade, and whose flesh was cast into the coals during the heating process and whose strength and power was imbued into the blade." Azoth said, a slight smile playing about his face as he remembered fighting the Dremora whose heart he had harvested for this blade.

It was a hard won fight against a fully armoured foe, a foe that had also been wielding a giant flaming great sword at the time, and who he had met on the peak of a mountain. The Dremora in question having been one of the ones used by the Daedric Prince, Mehrunes Dagon, to guard his shrine in the northwest of Skyrim.

Hephaestus's single eye flickered up to gaze at Azoth intently as she heard his words. "That's certainly a unique way to use monster parts in the forging process. Still, it's not the weirdest I've heard, over the years many of the smiths in my Familia have experimented and tested out a multitude of different techniques; from the odd to the downright bizarre."

"That's how our craft progresses; through trial and error. If you don't dare to test the limits or try something new, then you'll never improve, and will instead remain stagnant." Azoth shrugged.

"Well said," Hephaestus said lightly, before with a smile she handed the blade back to Azoth. "The dagger is flawless. If you still wish to, I would be happy to have you as a member of my Familia!"

"Brilliant!" Azoth grinned, his violet eyes gleaming with anticipation as he sheathed his dagger.

"Okay, well get out of that armour then and take your shit off," Hephaestus continued, a slight smirk on her face as she sure the bemused expression on Azoth's face. "I'll need to give you my Falna."

**( - )**

**(Sometime later)**

Entering the Hephaestus Familia's manor, Forgefire, the home of all of its thirty seven members, including the goddess herself, Azoth had to admit he was impressed.

The manor how was large, and incredibly grand, certainly worthy of a Familia that was apparently as wealthy and influential as the Hephaestus Familia was. With the manor house noticeably having a set of bronze gated, stone wall surrounding the manor's gardens. The Familia's emblem, of two hammers crossed over a volcano, proudly displayed over both the gates to the compound and over the front door of the manor itself.

Using the bronze key Hephaestus had given him, and her instructions for where their home was, Azoth, unlocked the gate and entered the compound. His gaze moving this way and that as he walked through the immaculately kept gardens, and the beautiful fountains and statues that decorated it, even as he followed the main pathway up to where the manor's front doors were.

Usually, according to Hephaestus, a member of a new Familia would be shown around by another member of the Familia, or by the goddess herself. Unfortunately though for Azoth, the Hephaestus Familia was a bit different than most.

Most of the Familia at present were either working in their own individual forges and workshops, and wasn't that a massive, and unexpected, boon, he now had his own private workshop/ forge. That or they were working in one of the shops that the Familia owned, either on the fourth or eighth floor of the Tower of Babel. Or finally, they were in the Dungeon, either in groups or as members of other parties; searching around for more materials or to grind Extalia to increase their 'levels'; and wasn't that a weird concept that did not quite understand yet.

Shaking his head at that, Azoth, continued up to the front doors and opened them, a smile on his face as he looked around. The place was probably larger than, Dragonreach, the Hold's keep back in Whiterun.

Quickly entering the manor's majestic entrance hall, Azoth, continued to look around in wonder, eyeing up the many weapons and examples of the different members skills that had been placed on the walls as decoration as he did so.

Personally speaking, he didn't like the idea of the weapons he had crafted being left to gather dust.

That said though, he would admit that he could at least understand the desire to display an example of your work for all to see, even if the things he crafted he either used until they were destroyed, or sold on. It was a point of pride.

As he thought that, Azoth, paused and began to inspect some of the weapons on the walls. Deep down he knew he was being a little bit hypocritical in his thinking. After all back in his room in Jorrvaskr, and in his house, Breezehome, he had a multitude of weapons, armour and different books and knickknacks he had picked up during the course of his adventuring, all of which was gathering dust. On top of that he had a place in Riften and in Windhelm too, both of which were also filled with clutter.

Shaking his head at that, Azoth, tore his gaze away from a massive, and impressively crafted, double bladed battle-axe, one which had apparently been crafted by someone called, Tsubaki Collbrande, and instead began to ascend the grand staircase. It was time to find his room, get off his armour and settle in.

Hephaestus, after giving him his Falna, and giving him the key and instructions to where the manor was, had then just told him to take any of the un-used rooms, all of which would be unlocked, and just make himself comfortable until she returned.

After that, and later in the evening after the stores had been closed, she had said that she would call for a feast and have all of the available members of the Familia gather so they could meet him and welcome him properly into the Familia

On top of that she had also said that she would show him to his personal forge, and introduce him to the member of the Familia that would be showing him the ropes of Orario, and who would take him to the Guild to get him both register, a Guild advisor, so that he could start venturing down into the depths of the Dungeon. A necessary bit of bureaucracy that he would have to bear with.

Azoth smiled at that. He suspected that there was a lot more that Hephaestus wanted to say to him, after all he had seen the look on her face after she had given him her Falna, and read his 'status'.

She had pretty much said as much after reading it, her one visible eye having gone wide and her mouth slack as she had done so.

In fact she had said that she would discuss his status with him after the feast tonight, and would talk with him about the duties, responsibilities and perks he would have now that he was a member of her Familia.

Azoth let out a light chuckle at that, ascending the staircase as he did so. This was certainly going to be a new and novel experience, and one he was very much looking forward too.

**( - )**

**(Back in the Tower of Babel, with Hephaestus)**

Sitting down beside her forge her previous work completely forgotten for the moment, Hephaestus, the Goddess of Smithing, couldn't help but stare down at the piece of paper in front of her in both shock and wonder/ Her hands shaking slightly as she ran her eye over what was written on the piece of paper in front of her.

She had known that Azoth was strong. The elf had just had that kind of aura, and judging by what little she had seen of his weapons, and the remnants of his armour, she had also known he was both a skilled blacksmith and an experienced warrior. That much had all been obvious from a glance, any god or goddess worth their salt would have been able to tell.

Plus, the mere fact that he had managed to not only fight the last of the Great Beasts, the One-Eyed Black Dragon, Alduin, and survived, was evidence enough of his strength! Though she had to admit that even now she still had trouble believing him, such was the enormity of the feat, even though she had both heard and felt the truth in his words.

Still, despite all of that she had never expected his status or Level to be this high.

Reaching up, she absentmindedly scratched at the skin under her eyepatch, even as she read Azoth's status off of the page once again.

**( - )**

**Azoth**

**[Level Six]**

**Strength: A867**

**Endurance: S999**

**Dexterity: C715**

**Agility: C732**

**Magic: E567**

**Skills:**

**Champion of Meridia: All stats are doubled when fighting against undead.**

**Chosen of Akotosh: Can speak in the ancient language of the dragons, and is capable of absorbing the souls of any dragons he slays and using the power and knowledge he receives from these devoured souls to wield the power of the dragon language, the Thu'um.**

**Werewolf: Is immune to all diseases, and has enhanced strength, speed, durability and regeneration, especially at night. Can take on a bestial form at will.**

**Development Abilities:**

**High Enchanter (B)**

**Master Blacksmith (B)**

**Abnormal Resistance (D)**

**Magic Resistance (G)**

**Spirit Healing (G)**

**Swordsman (G)**

**Magic:**

**Tamrielic Magic**

**( - )**

Staring again at the words and numbers on the piece of parchment in front of her, Hephaestus, couldn't help but shake her head at her good fortune.

There were only a dozen Level Six Adventurers in Orario, and probably only a score or so in the entire world, and her Familia now had one, and probably one of the strongest ones at that.

Without a doubt the Snow Elf; and honestly she didn't even know there was such a race, and she was a god, was the strongest member in their Familia. Hell, he was probably one of the strongest Adventurers in Orario at the moment, and he was a member of her Familia.

Hephaestus couldn't help but smile at that thought, even as she imagined how her friends, Loki, Hestia and Freya, would react to the news that she had a Level Six of her own. She could just imagine Loki and Hestia throwing a tantrum at her good fortune, and Freya's bemusement at missing out on such a powerful child.

That said, despite being glad to have him, she knew that his presence did present a few issues.

Hephaestus frowned at that thought.

Previously, before Azoth had joined, the half-dwarf and Captain of the Familia, Tsubaki Collbrande, at Level Five had been the most powerful member of the Familia.

All the other members of her Familia had been lower ranked. In fact she had had; one Level Five, three Level Fours, five Level Threes, ten Level Twos and twenty six Level Ones.

Her Familia was maybe not as strong or as big as either Freya's, Loki's Ganesha's or even Ishtar's Familia. But had still be one of the stronger ones in the city.

On top of which there had been a hierarchy in her Familia, with her, and her Captain, Tsubaki, at the top and the rest below them.

Now that Azoth had joined though, the newest member of the Familia was also the strongest in the Familia, and probably one of the best Smiths too judging by his skills and the examples of his craft she had seen thus far.

A person didn't get Development Abilities like; High Enchanter and Master Blacksmith, for no reason after all, in fact, Hephaestus, had never even seen those two particular abilities before. Which meant that they may in fact be unique to him, and that was not counting the whole host of other skills, Azoth, possessed.

That said though, from what she could infer, she suspected that, judging by these two skills, Azoth might be capable of making magic weapons on a par with the Crozzo Magic Swords, if not stronger than the originals.

Again, she couldn't believe her good fortune!

Hephaestus shook her head at that. She was still at a bit of a loss for what to do.

With such a powerful person now in her Familia, she knew she would need to be careful in how she approached things. She didn't want to alienate the other members by just giving him the perks his level and skills deserved, despite him having just joined. At the same time though she didn't want to disadvantage Azoth by not giving him these perks. No, she wanted to help him grow, and to achieve his goal.

It was complicated, and thinking on it now, she knew it wasn't something that she felt she could deal with on her own.

'I'll ask her about it,' Hephaestus thought to herself, folding the sheet with Azoth's status on it up as she did so and sticking it in the pocket of her trousers, even as she started putting away her tools. 'Hopefully she'll be able to give me some advice on what I should do!'

**( - )**

**AN: So there we go, Azoth has now joined a Familia. I decided to devote an entire chapter to this as I think its quite important. That said I will be putting in some more stuff in the following chapters which will reveal how he fits in with the Familia, and introduce a few more members about this otherwise undeveloped or unexplored Familia. **

**Plus we will get to go the Guild and there will be some more interaction with the main cast, and such. Should be good fun to write as we start getting into the real meat of the story, and as the plot begins to speed up and things start to go off. Plus I am looking forward to writing a bit more about the gods, and about exploring their personalities and existences, and how they relate to mortals. Something which I think is only touched on in canon so far. **

**That said, I am curious what people think about the stats sheet so far. Not about the stats or Level so much as I have already decided and finalised that, basing it off a crude decision to compare ten levels in Skyrim to one level in Danmachi, which going off of the fact that the character I am thinking of is Level Six Four, means that he is a Level Six point Four in Danmachi. Again this is crude and is just in my own mind as I work things out, but is what I've decided on as it makes sense to me. Especially as it fits his strength, but leaves room for development and progression. **

**No, the thing I am curious about is his skills, and whether the descriptions I've given are suitable, or whether I could beef them up a bit.**

**Additionally for those tuning In, being a Champion if Meridia, means that he did indeed have a godly blessing, even if it is not a falna. So like I said last chapter, that means he doesn't start as a level 1 with 0 on all if his stats.**

**Other than that thanks a lot for reading, I really do appreciate the support and I hope you continue to enjoy my story. Also please do check out some of my other stories if you have the time.**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing and supporting the story. **

**Catch you all later.**

**Greed720.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So hey all here is the next chapter to 'The Last of his Kind'. Again the response so far has been brilliant, so thanks for that, and after reading the reviews for the last chapter I have made some minor changes to Azoth's stat sheet. I've also renamed the name of the manor, after all it turns out Hearthfire is the name of the Hestia Familia's future home in canon. I didn't realise that, as I instead chose the name based off of the elder scrolls Hearthfire expansion.**

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I have to say I am really enjoying writing this story at the moment, in part I think it was because the second season of the Danmachi anime was running. Though unfortunately the season is over now, but some good news it that a third season has apparently been confirmed for next year, so that should be good.**

**Still though, despite that I am liking this story at the moment, and am really appreciative that so many others are enjoying it too. Thanks a lot for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading, and leave a review.**

**If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls or Danmachi. **

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_With such a powerful person now in her Familia, she knew she would need to be careful in how she approached things. She didn't want to alienate the other members by just giving him the perks his level and skills deserved, despite him having just joined. At the same time though she didn't want to disadvantage Azoth by not giving him these perks. No, she wanted to help him grow, and to achieve his goal._

_It was complicated, and thinking on it now, she knew it wasn't something that she felt she could deal with on her own._

_'__I'll ask her about it,' Hephaestus thought to herself, folding the sheet with Azoth's status on it up as she did so and sticking it in the pocket of her trousers, even as she started putting away her tools. 'Hopefully she'll be able to give me some advice on what I should do!'_

**( - )**

**Chapter 7**

**( - )**

**(Forgefire Manor)**

It took him a couple of minutes of searching, but eventually, Azoth was able to find an empty room on the third floor of the manor house.

Looking around, at his lodgings for the foreseeable future the Snow Elf couldn't help but smile as he looked around at the large, richly decorated chamber.

The Hephaestus Familia was clearly a wealthy one.

The room had gleaming wooden panelling along all four walls, which hide the cold stone walls behind. It also had large set of bay windows with a number of plain sheets of glass in it; both giving the room a good view, but also sheltering the room against the elements.

In terms of furniture, there was also a large, double bed with a thick mattress on the frame at the far end of the room, with a pair of heavy looking dressers and a hefty wooden wardrobe beside it.

On the other side of the room, there was an empty desk/ worktable and wooden chair, with an empty weapons rack bolted to the wall next to the desk, and a pair of standing, wooden mannequins in the corner.

Overall the room was very grand, expensively furnished, and far better than he was expecting, especially with it being free.

Grinning slightly at this, Azoth unbuckled his belt from around his waist, and the belted sheath from his back. His smile still in place as he placed Dawnbreaker, his Daedric dagger and Wuuthrad on the weapons rack, even as he then began unbuckling his armour with practiced ease. Taking the battered and scarred metal plates off of his body, and then putting them on one of the wooden mannequins

Within minutes he had transferred all of the armour, save for the boots onto one the wooden mannequins. Which left him wearing nothing but his clean, but still stained padded shirt, his brown, slacks and the armoured boots.

"Right," Azoth muttered, his hands on his hips as he looked around at the richly furnished, but barely lived in room, a grin on his face.

His weapons and his armour, that was pretty much all of his belongings.

It was sad, Azoth, thought and he would happily acknowledge that himself. But he had literally nothing else.

"Once I get some more gold, or what is it they call it, 'Valis', I'll need to get some new clothes and stuff, maybe a journal or two too." Azoth muttered to himself as he looked around his bare room for a few moments, before it all got a bit too depressing.

"Nope, I think I'll head out now." Azoth continued mumbling to himself, at a loss for what else he could do for the rest of today; or at least until Hephaestus and the rest of his new Familia returned from what they were currently doing.

With that in mind, Azoth, grabbed his sword and belt from the weapons rack, checked his pouch of gold coins, and then left the room, pausing only long enough to lock his room behind him.

It was time to go fleece a few merchants out of their merchandise.

**( - )**

**(A few minutes later)**

Heading out into the streets of Orario no longer weighed down by his armour, Azoth, couldn't help but marvel at how peaceful and happy the city looked.

The place was filled with monster hunting adventurers and was built over the entrance to a gigantic, ancient Dungeon that was filled with horrific monsters, and yet, no one seemed that concerned or bothered.

Walking down the high-street, his right hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword and his money pouch jingling on his belt, Azoth, soon found his feet leading him into the main shopping area, his violet eyes shifting backwards and forwards as he passed by numerous clothing shops, each of which seemed to cater to a different clientele.

With one of the shops having barely substantial underwear on display, only instead of displaying what was clearly underwear, as underwear, the items were instead displayed as legitimate… well, outerwear. As if they expected people to purchase their goods and parade around in their underclothing.

A glance inside of the shop however, and at all the tanned, dark haired women inside, was enough to tell, Azoth, that this was a shop clearly aimed at Amazons. He should have guessed going off what he had seen of those two Loki Familia, Amazon sisters.

Similarly he saw a shop full of children, or Pallum's he assumed. Then a shop which catered to dwarfs, and another which catered to animal people, complete with strategic holes in the clothing for extra appendages like tails and the like.

Shaking his head at that, Azoth, continued on down the street ignoring the cries from some storeowners around him as they attempted to sell food and, or drinks to passing shoppers.

None of these shops caught his eye, not even the ones that seemed to be meant for humans and elves. All the items in there were just too boring and mundane. They were the kind of clothing he regularly wore back in Skyrim. They looked functional and to be of a good quality, but he wanted something flashy and new.

"Potato, fried potato!"

As he continued to walk down the high-street a familiar voice caught his attention.

It was the Goddess Hestia, he would recognise the short, incredibly busty, dark haired, blue eyed girl anywhere.

She was pretty… distinctive.

"Yeah go on then, I'll get a couple of these 'fried potatoes'." Azoth called out with a smile, wandering up to the stall and the goddess, already fishing about in his coin purse for a piece of gold as he did so.

"Oh, hey it's you!" Hestia chirped, recognition spreading across her face, along with a grin as she recognised the white haired, violet eyed Snow Elf.

"Yep, it's me. So, Goddess Hestia, how are you doing?" Azoth replied easily, leaning against the stand as he waited for the busty goddess to get him his snack, absentmindedly rolling the gold coin along his knuckle.

"Oh you know, same old, same old," Hestia waved him off, a smile still on her face as such put several odd coloured sauces on the potatoes he had ordered. "My Bell did get himself into trouble with a minotaur the other day though!"

Azoth paused as he heard this. "Oh Bell Cranel, the short, white haired, nervous kid?"

"You know him?" Hestia asked, her voice partly delighted and partly surprised.

"Yeah, I met him at the Hostess of Fertility the other night. He seemed like a good kid, a bit nervous, and lacking in confidence, especially when talking to women, but still not a bad kid." Azoth nodded. Thinking on it how, Bell, had disappeared on him the other night just before he had started brawling with Bete. "Not sure where he went though, as he kind of disappeared without a word quite early on."

"Oh yes, he does like going there," Hestia nodded, wrapping up the potatoes in paper now. "He didn't mention meeting you last night though, or, well actually, he didn't really say anything about what he was up too. I just know he came back relatively early and went to bed."

"Maybe he drank too much?" Azoth shrugged, flipping Hestia the coin, and taking the wrapped up snacks from her.

"Was Bell drinking last night?!" Hestia suddenly snapped, her eyes widening as she quickly twisted around to look at Azoth, her blue eyes flashing fiercely.

"Erm, no, I mean, well he was drinking something, but what that was… let's say no…" Azoth replied, somewhat taken aback by the previously bubbly girl's ferocity. It was a bit unnerving, almost like this was the boy's overprotective, and borderline obsessive mother.

"Oh, well, I'm sure he wasn't. My, Bell, is a good boy, he wouldn't be as irresponsible as to go out drinking or messing about with floozies!" Hestia nodded, her eyes opening a crack to look sideways at Azoth.

Azoth had to withhold a smirk. The point she was trying to get across wasn't missed, it was however summarily ignored.

"Hm, I have to say, this isn't bad." Azoth spoke up, not even batting an eye at her previous comment as he instead dug into one of his fried potatoes and then changed the topic of the conversation.

"Aren't they!" Hestia smiled widely, before she suddenly paused. "So what are you doing here then Mr Adventurer?"

"Shopping," Azoth replied dryly, polishing off one of the weird but pleasant tasting snacks, before digging into another one. "I didn't really have anything but my weapons, armour and the clothes I'm currently wearing, when I first arrived here. So while I have the time, and a bit of coin, I'm getting some new things, just the essentials you know."

Hestia nodded at that, her blue eyes roving up and down Azoth's stained shirt, worn looking slacks and battered, armoured boots. Thankfully though, she was nice enough not to point out just how shabby he looked.

Instead, Hestia, put on a slightly coy smile and sidled over to him, even as he finished his last fried potato snack. "So, have you found a Familia yet?"

Azoth paused as he heard the goddess's question. The girl in front of him had offered him a place in her Familia before he went over to the Hostess of Fertility. Despite that though he had gone off and joined another one.

A small part of him felt a little guilty.

Luckily though it was only a very small part, the rest of him however was quite satisfied that he made the best decision for himself, and also knew, that living life just to please others was no life at all. No, you would only make your own life miserable if you did that.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Azoth, nodded to the goddess's question. "Yeah, I joined the Hephaestus Familia earlier today, as a Smith it was the best choice for me."

"Oh," Hestia muttered.

He could hear the disappointment in her tone, and also see it broadcasted across her face.

"Sorry," Azoth shrugged.

"No, no it's fine. I know Hephaestus, she's a good friend of mine," Hestia replied, waving his half-hearted apology aside. "You also probably made the right choice, the Goddess of Smithing's Familia, is probably the best one for a Smith."

'How magnanimous of her,' Azoth thought dryly. Honestly, she wasn't that bad for a Divine being, and neither were Loki or Hephaestus either for that matter.

In fact if he hadn't been told that they were goddesses, he probably would never have known. Or at least in Hephaestus's case he wouldn't have known until she went to give him his 'Falna'. He had definitely noticed the immense power in the redhead's lithe body when she had done that.

"Right so shopping!" Hestia chirped, once again back to being as bubbly as she had previously been. "What kind of thing are you looking for?"

**( - )**

**(Sometime Later)**

Entering the shop the Hestia had directed him to a few minutes later, Azoth, grinned as he stepped inside.

This was a lot more like it.

All around him he could see mannequins wearing fancy looking clothes, similar to what those Guild workers had been wearing the other day, only nicer.

Looking around he could see elegant gowns that made even the regal clothing the High Queen of Skyrim wore, look cheap and drab, and flashy male outfits; button up shirts, matching smart slacks and black jackets.

It was all so different, and so interesting.

Still grinning, Azoth, immediately grabbed several items that caught his interest, even as he swept passed one of the shop workers and headed to a curtained off area where he could see other customers waiting to try on clothes. As he did this, he didn't miss the dismissive glances his current apparel garnered him, nor the cautious speculative looks a few also gave him once they took note of the gleaming sword at his hip.

Ignoring them all, Azoth, cheerfully barged into one of the changing rooms and began trying on; suit trousers and jackets, shirts, and waistcoats, as he later found they were called, out. The Snow Elf having a grand old time, as he spent a day relaxing and playing around, a far cry from how he usually spent his days.

It was nice just to lounge around and be a little idle sometimes, as oppose to delving into dungeons or raiding tombs and castles, Even if the latter was far more exciting than the former, especially since the novelty of playing around, treating oneself tended to wear of quite quickly.

"Hey Azoth, is that you?" The familiar voice of Tiona called out suddenly, attracting Azoth's attention as he stood in front of a mirror, several bags of now bought clothing at his feet as well as his folded and bagged old rags, even as he adjusted his current outfit.

With Azoth having donned a pair of black leather boots, black slacks, a white shirt and a grey waistcoat with silver threat embroider along the edges.

He looked pretty damned good, if he said so himself.

"Err yes…, Tiona?" Azoth replied, turning from his reflection as he instead looked over to the Amazon girl, his relaxed violet eyes tracing over the Amazon's busty sister, Tione, the blushing, brown haired elf girl, Lefiya, and the pretty, doll like human, Aiz. All of whom he could see were looking back at him in surprise.

"Really, you shop here? You?! I would have thought someone like you would go to a cooler place?!" Tione asked, crossing her arms below her bust, even as she gave some of the frilly dresses around her a disgusted look.

"This place is lovely. You just don't like it because they don't sell clothing that makes you look like a sex worker!" Lefiya shot back, her face still red as she tore her blue eyes away from Azoth, and instead over at the Amazon.

"Pretty much, yeah." Tione shrugged nonchalantly.

Tiona however had stalked over to Azoth, her green eyes raking up and down his form. "I don't know, I think this stuff suits him. I mean he's an elf isn't he; like Lefiya and Riveria, they're all a bit stiff and stuffy."

"Stiff and stuffy?" Azoth repeated bemused, even as he went back to checking out his reflection. "I wouldn't say I was all that stiff and stuffy, but still, I look pretty damned good!"

"Yeah he does!" Lefiya chipped in, only for her to go bright red as the other four looked at her. "I-I mean, the waistcoat suits him…"

Azoth smiled wryly as he heard her words. She was a pretty girl, but a bit too young, innocent and naive for his tastes. On top of which she seemed too prim and proper. He had tried it on with Nobles before, it never worked out well. Azoth's rough upbringing, blunt demeanour, and profession, never mixed well with uptight, spoilt Nobs.

Still, he wasn't about to say anything and embarrass her. He would allow her, her crush, in the hopes that she would grow out of it, and if she didn't and she pushed, well he would let her down gently. That or depending on the circumstances, and any other hidden sides she might have to her, he might give her a chance.

Honestly he didn't know, then again he never did. His history with women, was very similar to his history of Adventuring. Which is to say all over the place, sometimes dangerous, sometimes exotic, and it always ended, sometimes well, but sometimes not so well.

"Thanks," Azoth said to Lefiya, glancing over at the younger elf for a moment, before he then locked eyes with the doll like girl, Aiz.

This girl, he couldn't help it, she unnerved him a bit. The people of Skyrim, they were an emotional lot, they openly laughed, argued, fought and loved. They might appear stoic on the battlefield, but when in the company of their friends and comrades, well they were as boisterous as it was possible to be.

Aiz though, she was an odd one, even looking into her golden eyes now he couldn't see a flicker of emotion within them, nor a single inkling as to what she was thinking or feeling on her face.

Yes, Azoth thought, as he met her placid golden eyes with his own violet ones, she was a very odd one.

"So, what are you lot doing here?" Azoth finally asked, tearing his eyes away from Aiz as he instead looked to Tiona, a bemused look spreading across his face as he saw her examining one of the frilly dresses cautiously, like it was about to come to life and eat her at any moment.

"We're shopping for Aiz!" Lefiya chirped happily, clutching onto the emotionless blonde's arm as she did so.

"Yeah, we took her to one of our shops earlier, but then poor Lefiya almost fainted, so we came to… this one instead." Tione added on, a look of distaste on her face as she looked around.

"Ah, well I wish you luck then." Azoth nodded, a half grin on his face.

"Aww thanks!" Tiona grinned as she sidled up to him and threw an arm around his broad shoulders. "Oh yeah, by the way, that fight with Bete last night, you were pretty amazing back then!"

"Yes he knows, I think you told him that about fifty times last night!" Tione sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh, did I?" Tiona replied, sticking her tongue out in thought.

"You're strong." Aiz suddenly said, her tone soft, so soft in fact that were it not for Azoth's enhanced hearing he might have missed it.

"Yeah, you're telling me!" Tiona grinned, with an empathic nod.

Azoth grinned in response. He did enjoy it when people recognised his strength, especially when that person was a pretty Amazonian with no concept of personal space. Tiona might not be as busty as her sister, but he wouldn't deny that her pressing her firm, strong body against him wasn't pleasant.

"Oh by the way, Mister Azoth, did you join a Familia yet?" Lefiya suddenly chipped in, the shadow of a frown passing over her face as she saw the way Tiona was clutching onto him.

"Yeah, that's a good point, Lefiya, what about it Azoth? If you haven't, you could come join the Loki Familia?" Tiona beamed, her smile widening as she clung onto Azoth even closer, much to Lefiya's noticeable chagrin.

"I'm not sure you should be saying that, Tiona." Tione suddenly cut in, an uncertain expression on her face as she looked at Azoth. "That would be more down to Loki, Finn, Riveria and Gareth, than us."

"Well, that doesn't really matter," Azoth shrugged, an easy grin on his face, even as his perceptive eyes caught the hint of caution in Tione's green eyes as she looked at him.

The girl seemed ill at ease, especially after Tiona's suggestion. It made him wonder, did the older Amazon sister know something the others didn't, maybe something that made her believe that he, Azoth, wouldn't be all that welcome in the Loki Familia?

"What do you mean?" Tiona asked curiously.

"I joined the Hephaestus Familia earlier today." Azoth shrug, a grin on his face.

"Aww really, that's lame!" Tiona groaned, the younger girl looking distinctly putout now.

"Does that mean that you're a Smith? I thought you were a warrior?" Lefiya asked, the elf girl masking her disappointment far better than the Amazon, even though Azoth was still able to notice it.

"What with these magic hands?" Azoth grinned, raising his long, pale hands as he did so. "You'd be in awe of what I can do with these!"

Almost immediately Lefiya flushed bright red.

Which was something both Amazon sisters seemed to notice, as Tiona released him and then joined her older sister in ruthlessly teasing the young, pink faced elf maiden.

Turns out, Azoth chuckled to himself, the prim and proper elf had a bit of a dirty mind. Genuinely he hadn't even thought of their being any innuendo in his words.

Noticeably, as the two Amazon's teased the very red faced elf, Aiz, kept her golden eyes on him. Her head tilting to the side curiously as she did so, before, without a single change in her facial expression she spoke again. "What Level are you?"

"M-Miss Aiz!" Lefiya cried out, fighting her way out of the Amazon's sister's clutches as she instead turned to Aiz. "It's not proper to ask such a question of an Adventurer from another Familia!"

"Oh come on Lefiya, it's not that bad! All the Adventurers Levels are a matter of public record, it's just their statuses and skills that you're not supposed to ask about." Tione chipped in, rolling her eyes at Lefiya's actions as she did so.

"Yeah, it's not that rude. Besides this will make it fair;" Tiona added in with a grin, ignoring a nearby salesclerk that looked to be teetering on the edge of asking them to stop making such a commotion, as she instead looked over to the bemused Snow Elf. "Me, Tione and Aiz, we're all Level Fives, and Lefiya over there, she's a Level Three!"

Azoth nodded as he heard that. He now understood what they meant when they were talking about Levels, after all Hephaestus had shared this with him at least that much, even if she had said she wanted to talk with him in more detail about his status later.

"Oh ok, that's good." Azoth nodded, an impressed look on his face as Tiona practically preened in front of him, even as Tione and Lefiya seemed to stand a little straighter, and Aiz just stared at him. "I'm Level Six."

Almost at once the four reacted. Tione and Tiona gawping in shock, their shoulders slumping slightly. Lefiya raised her hand to her mouth, to hold in an "Eep" of surprise, even as she stared at him with wide eyed awe. Aiz however just narrowed her eyes a fraction.

"So that's how you beat, Bete, so easily." The golden haired girl stated bluntly.

It was the most he had ever heard her say before.

"Pretty much," Azoth grinned, "I was an experienced Adventurer even before I came to Orario."

"But still, how did you get that strong outside of the city? I thought it was like insanely difficult to get over Level Two out there! I mean sure there are exception, but still, a Level Six!" Tione asked, her eyes widening as she realised the difference in strength between the four of them and Azoth.

Noticing the Amazon sister's reaction, Azoth, was pretty sure he knew why they were reacting the way they were. For someone who must be used to being one of the most powerful in Orario, it was probably a bit of the shock to the system to meet someone stronger than you, and a previously unknown, or unheard of, someone too.

"I killed monsters of course!" Azoth grinned, patting Dawnbreaker at his side as he did so. "Mainly undead and dragons, and even once or twice an undead dragon!"

"Dragons?" Aiz asked intently.

"Yep, dragons." Azoth replied, the smile still on his face. Though that smile dimmed slightly when he remembered Mia Grand's warning about not speaking about Alduin in public, and instead only with the Guild and his god.

Apparently the World Eater had garnered quite the reputation for himself since he arrived here, quite the reputation indeed if even powerful Adventurers and gods feared to speak his name.

Bloody overgrown lizard.

"Well anyway, I'll probably leave you to your shopping!" Azoth suddenly spoke up, reaching down and picking up his bags as he did so; his comment noticeably surprising three of the four girls in front of him.

"What really?" Tiona whined disappointedly.

"Afraid so, I need to dump this lot back in my room and get ready to meet the rest of my Familia," Azoth shrugged, before leaning in and lowering his voice. "Plus I think the staff are getting a bit sick and tired of us being here, and are about to kick us out."

Hearing the last part of his words the two Amazons and Lefiya looked around, and did indeed notice that several salesclerks were giving the group the stink eye. None of them looking too happy about the noisy group of five causing a ruckus, taking up a lot of room in the shop and not even buying anything to boot.

"Ah yes…" Lefiya muttered, her face going a bit pink again, even as she began nervously playing with the end of her long, waist length ponytail.

"That's fine, we were done here anyway!" Tione shrugged, not looking at all bothered by the faces of the clerks, in fact she looked pretty happy about the prospect of leaving.

"Hey wait, we only just got here! We've not even had the chance to look around!" Lefiya cried out, much to Tiona's amusement as the Amazon girl began cackling evilly, her sister likewise grinning as she grabbed Aiz by the shoulders and began steering the blonde of the shop.

Chuckling at this, Azoth shook his head in amusement, and made to leave too, calling out his goodbye to the Loki Familia Adventurers as he left, getting three corresponding goodbyes, even as the two Amazon sister and Lefiya fought over where they would be taking Aiz next.

He was kind of glad that he had gone shopping alone.

**( - )**

**(Back at Forgefire Manor)**

"Azoth, welcome." Hephaestus called out with a smile as she saw Azoth enter the room, the last of the Familia to arrive, as requested. With him no longer wearing the stained and dirty clothing he was wearing before, but instead a clean, new set of clothing.

The Snow Elf now remarkably cleaner and tidier than he had been the first time she met him earlier that day.

With the red haired goddess currently sitting at the head of a long, rectangular table in the manor's main hall, the other thirty seven members of the Familia all sat around her, all of them waiting for the newest member of the Familia to arrive.

With, Tsubaki Collbrande, a tall, attractive, curvaceous, tanned, dark haired woman, with an eye patch over her left eye, sitting on one side of the goddess. The half dwarf smith sitting on the goddess's right side, as befitting the Captain of the Familia.

The rest of the Familia meanwhile were spread all around the table, not seemingly sitting in any order, or dressing in any strict dress code, as the members wore a variety of clothing, in a variety of styles; from smart to casual.

With some, like the short, pink haired, Lisbeth, wearing a smart, slightly frilly red dress. Whilst others, like the tall, dark skinned, bald man next to the Pallum girl wearing a vest and work trousers, probably the clothing he had been wearing at the forge earlier in the day.

"Thanks," Azoth nodded as he confidently entered the room; conscious of all the eyes on him as he strolled in through the large doors his back straight and shoulders square as he surveyed the watching Familia members with his own intense violet eyes.

Hephaestus had wanted to make a show of this. For that reason she, and her Captain, Tsubaki, had met with him beforehand, even as the rest of the Familia filtered in and took their seats. Both of them telling him to wait outside until called so that he could be introduced to the rest of the Familia at the same time.

"Familia," Hephaestus continued, leaning forwards in her chair as she recaptured the rest of the Familia's attention, a slight smile on her face as she looked around at them, before she gestured to her newest Familia member, a warm smile on her face. "This is Azoth, the newest member of our Familia."

"Hello, it's a pleasure." Azoth said, nodding his head as dozens of his fellow Adventurer's greeted him.

With some, like the tall, bald man, who looked like native of Hammerfell, and the small, dark haired, elf like human next to him, smiling and loudly welcoming him, both of them clapping and calling out greetings and congratulations.

Others meanwhile, like Lisbeth, and like the tall, teen with short red hair and tanned skin, who was sitting on the other side of the pink haired Pallum, were quieter in their welcome. Clapping and nodding to him, but not leaping to their feet, or showing any real enthusiasm.

Still there were others, like the muscly Amazon girl on Tsubaki's other side who barely looked up. With the dark haired girl in question, instead fiddling with some kind of mechanical gizmo in her hands, seemingly oblivious to all else.

Walking along the edge of the table, Azoth, sank into the empty seat on Hephaestus's other side, her left hand side, a slight smile on his face as the Familia members all around him continued to talk, either amongst each or other, or for those close to him, to Azoth himself.

Almost straight away, Azoth, could see that they were all, mostly, a friendly, and eclectic bunch.

"So have you settled in?" Hephaestus asked, drawing Azoth's attention to her as she did so. His violet eyes flicking sideways, only for them to widen a faction as he saw that she was wearing a fresh white shirt, and the same tight black trousers and black boots as before. In the light of the room, the ensemble were far more noticeable than they had been in the darkness of the forge.

"Yes, I even got out and about and managed to pick up some new clothes from the city's high-street." Azoth nodded, sitting up straighter as he noticed how a silence had quickly begun to descend on the table.

"I noticed, they look good," Hephaestus nodded, before with a slight smile she looked back to the rest of the table. "So as I was saying, this is Azoth. He is the newest member of the Familia who just joined today. He's is not however not a new Adventurer, instead he is a season veteran who just arrived in the city from outside of Orario!"

The other members of the Familia all started muttering amongst each other curiously as they heard this. With Lisbeth noticeably frowning, before she turned and spoke quietly to the bald man next to her, whose name was, Agil, or at least going off what Azoth's heightened hearing could pick up. With the pink haired girl telling the taller man about her meeting with Azoth earlier today.

Likewise the elf like human, Leo, turned and started muttering excitedly to the red headed teen next to him. A guy called Welf apparently. With Leo, audibly cursing the fact that the new guy, wasn't a girl, after which, instead of talking about Azoth, he started ruminating on his desire for more beautiful girls to join the Familia, much to the red haired man's amusement.

On Azoth's other side he saw Tsubaki lean over to the muscly Amazon girl next to her, Nyssa. With the half dwarf Captain audibly telling the other girl to pay attention, even as the large, brawny, dark haired man on Nyssa's other side, Beckondorf, let out a loud, cheerful laugh at Nyssa's actions, after which he began teasing the distracted Amazon.

It was all very relaxed and cheerful, or at least that was what Azoth thought as he looked around at the laughing, joking and chatting group.

"What Level is he Lady Hephaestus?" Lisbeth suddenly asked, her words causing an interested quiet to spread across the table as they all looked to their goddess for an answer. "You say he is a veteran Adventurer, so does that mean he is already Level Two?"

Hephaestus's lips quirked up in amusement as she heard the pink haired girl's question, the redhead not look at all perturbed about being questioned.

"You mean is he already entitled to use Lady Hephaestus's mark on the things he crafts?" Tsubaki cut in, a smirk on her lips as she bluntly got straight to the point of Lisbeth's question.

"Well…," Lisbeth went a little pink as she heard her Tsubaki's rejoinder, the Pallum fervently looking away from the smirking, Agil, who seemed to enjoy the fact that Lisbeth was being called out. "Well, I didn't put it quite like that, but, well, yes. Is the newbie entitled to use Lady Hephaestus's mark, despite him just joining today?"

Azoth cocked an eyebrow as he heard this, his violet yes flicking over to the Goddess of Smithing curiously. This wasn't the first time he had heard Lisbeth referring to Hephaestus's mark.

"What Lisbeth is talking about, is a Familia tradition." Hephaestus said, her words drawing the attention of the rest of the table, despite her directing them to Azoth. "When a member of the Familia becomes Level Two, and gains the Development Ability, Blacksmith, I offer them the opportunity to put my mark, the Familia's brand on what they produce. Or at least as long as the armour or weapon, or whatever it is they are crafting, meets my standards, or my Executive, Tsubaki's standard. For something you create to have the Hephaestus Familia brand, well it is a symbol of recognition of the crafters skill, and the items quality."

Azoth nodded as he digested this, his eyes flicking around the table at all the interested Familia members. Nearly half of them were looking proud. This group he assumed were the ones over Level Two and with the Development Ability, Blacksmith. The rest however looked resolute, or determined, or frustrated. These were the ones, he assumed, who were still attempting to gain that honour.

"But in answer to your previous question," Hephaestus continued, a smile still on her face. "Azoth is currently a Level Six Adventurer, and has a Development Ability called Master Blacksmith, and another called High Enchanter, both of which give him the right to bare my brand. Though again, he will only be able to do so as long as what he crafts meets with my standards!"

Almost at once absolute silence spread across the table, with everyone looking at Azoth in shock now, even the previously inattentive, Nyssa, with only Tsubaki and Hephaestus looking unperturbed by what was just said.

"He's Level Six?" Lisbeth asked, her voice quiet and strained as she broke the suddenly tense silence, even as the Pallum stared at Azoth in shock. The rest of the room echoing her reaction, though some of them looked more curious or speculative, and one or two looked a little cautious and suspicious.

"Lady Hephaestus, wouldn't that mean that he is the highest ranked Adventurer in the Familia?" Agil question, his deep voice ringing out in the silence that followed Lisbeth's words, his brow furrowed as his intense dark eyes locked on Azoth curiously.

"It does yes, but it doesn't change the fact that he is new to the Familia and will need to work to prove himself, just as everyone else does." Hephaestus nodded resolutely, the redhead clearly choosing her words carefully.

"Yep, which means he will remain my minion for the foreseeable future, just like the rest of you!" Tsubaki chipped in with a loud, good-natured laugh. Her words and her tone of voice breaking the tense atmosphere that had previous enveloped the table.

"Minion?" Azoth asked dryly, leaning forward to look at Tsubaki as he did so, his long pale ears twitching, even as a bemused smiled played about the corners of his mouth.

"Yep," Tsubaki nodded unashamedly, a bright smile spreading across the beautiful, dark haired woman's face. "As the Captain of the Familia, everyone here is my minion, save for Lady Hephaestus herself of course!"

"Urgh, don't bother fighting her on this man," Leo piped up, groaning along with a number of other people at the table, the short, elf like teen's eyes shifting over to Azoth. "She keeps on at this, it's kind of a thing with her. She's one of those girls who have a control kink, you know!"

"I think it's called a domination fetish." Beckendorf laughed, the larger teen's booming voice ringing out throughout the hall, as he laughed a deep, infectious laugh that soon caught on as a number of other Familia members started laughing, even as Tsubaki went a bit pink and started vehemently denying that she had a fetish for dominating people.

Looking around, Azoth, blinked in confusion as everyone went back to talking and laughing, many of the members now digging into the food in front of them, or pouring out mugs of ale or glasses of wine or water. Most of them slowly becoming wrapped up in conversation, though some still sent him the occasional curious look.

"You get used to it," Hephaestus said dryly from beside him, a glass of wine in her hand as she watched the table descend into chaos. "I love all my Familia members with everything I have, but there is no denying that most of them are barking mad."

"I prefer the term 'bat shit insane'. But still, that's just another way of saying that we're all; eccentric, quirky, and interesting?" Tsubaki cut in joyfully, her face still a little pink as she broke off from denying Beckendorf's accusations, and instead poured herself a large glass of wine, slopping some of the crimson liquid onto the table, even as she leaned over to speak with both Hephaestus and Azoth.

"I like it," Azoth said after a few moments, looking around the hall as he did so, a slight smile on his face.

The atmosphere and the raucous bantering. It reminded him of the feasts he had regularly had in Jorrvaskr with the rest of the Companions. Every night he had spent at the hall had ended with drinking, shouting, boasting, storytelling, and of course; a brawl, or a bit of swordplay or some other kind of martial competition.

"I'm glad," Hephaestus smiled. "They're a good group, though they are admittedly very inquisitive; I suspect that more than a few of them will have questions about where you've been, how you got so strong, and the techniques you have learned and weapons you have crafted. Try not to take offense, and feel free to put them off if you want too. They do all mean well, but please don't feel like you're under any obligation to tell them your life story or your secrets."

"Not to worry," Azoth smiled, waving off her concerns. "I might not tell them everything about me, but if there is one thing I do enjoy, you know apart from fighting or Smithing, and well…. Yes, well if there is one thing I like doing its telling tales. I was a bard once you know, not for long, but I joined a bard's college for a few months and was pretty good at it!"

"You were a bard?" Hephaestus asked in amusement, her eyes raking up and down his form, even as Tsubaki let out a snort of laughter, a fine mist of wine spraying out of the beautiful, but far from elegant, woman's mouth.

"I wouldn't say that I was the best that there ever was." Azoth laughed. "But I certainly could spin a tale as well as most, and have a lot of adventures that I have been on, and quests I have completed, to use when telling my tales."

"You'll have to regale us one night then." Hephaestus smiled, taking another sip of her wine.

"Sounds like a plan," Azoth nodded, raising his mug of mead in a toast of sorts, before draining it in a single gulp. It was pretty delicious. In fact it kind of reminded him of Black-Briar Meadery's mead, a beverage local to the Rift that he was very fond of.

"That said, before you get too deep into your cups," Hephaestus continued, looking out over the rest of her chatting and eating Familia for a moment, before glancing back at Azoth with her one visible eye. "Once the feast is done, I would like to talk to you more about your status and about some of your skills. Nothing intrusive of course. I just want to relay what they all are, and get an idea of how some of them work. Again you don't have to tell me everything, but I would appreciate a bit for information if you are willing, just so I know what you're capable of, and what you can handle."

Azoth, paused for a moment as he thought about her words, before, after a moment he nodded his assent.

"And then I will have you work alongside another member of the Familia," Hephaestus continued, with a slight smile. "Just until you find your feet, and to help you acclimatise to Orario and being in a new Familia. They'll also take you to the Guild building tomorrow and help you register, and get you a Guild Advisor too. Maybe even take you down into the Dungeon too if you are willing. Though if you do head down there you might need to borrow some armour for the moment, and I also wouldn't advise going down too deep, even for a Level Six like you, or at least not until you get a better idea of what it is like down there."

Again Azoth nodded. "I remember you saying, and I think I might do as you say and at least check the place out."

"Welf." Hephaestus called out, catching the redheaded man's attention as he broke off from the conversation he was having with the dark haired, Leo, and instead looked over to his goddess. "I want you to take, Azoth, to the Guild building tomorrow, and then show him his forge and workshop and help him get settled in. Is that alright?"

Welf paused as he heard this, his brow furrowing for a moment as he looked over at, Azoth, before without a word he shrugged and then nodded his assent.

"Thank you." Hephaestus smiled, her words causing Welf to go a little pink, before he quickly turned back to his food, his face going even redder as Leo once again started talking to him, a gleeful smirk on the elf like teen's face as the younger boy clearly began teasing the redhead.

Azoth, noticing this smirked, and then chuckled slightly under his breath. He was pretty happy with his choices thus far, and was looking forward to what tomorrow would bring. Not only would he be registering as an 'official' Adventurer and member of the Hephaestus Familia, he would also be getting his first look at the massive Dungeon that lay beneath the city of Orario.

**( - )**

**AN: So what do you all think? This chapter had some world building and character development in, as well as some interactions with other characters. Most importantly though it allowed me to introduce the Hephaestus Familia, a Familia that is pretty much not at all developed, and in canon has only three, now two, named members, including the goddess herself. For that reason I have had to introduce other characters into the story to fill out the Hephaestus Familia's ranks. There are some fun Easter eggs in the Familia, which I reckon some of you will manage to pick up. Just to clarify, these aren't the og characters, but are inspired off appearances, and have vaguely similar traits, nothing more than that though. They are not like for like copies, and never will be. **

**I know some may think this is just filler, or that nothing is happening, but I would disagree. In my mind it is important to set out the context of the world and the Familia, and how Azoth and the rest of the characters interact. It is not just about action, as much as I do love action and fighting. It is also about interactions, exchanges between characters and the creation of connections. **

**That said the next chapter will not only have Azoth register with the Guild and waltz back into some canon events, but it will also have him venture into the Dungeon for the first time, and have him have some one on one time with a certain Welf Crozzo. Plus he'll be getting some temporary armour until he can forge his own, so will have an opportunity to be a bit judgy, as any master craftsperson would be when using something that they themselves did not create.**

**On top of that I am looking forward to exploring more about gods and monsters, as well as the other races, so of which I don't feel was fully developed or explored, or at least in the anime. **

**So yes, a lot to look forward too. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and leave a review.**

**Thanks for reading, and please do check out my other stories if you have the time.**

**Catch you all later.**

**Greed720.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hey all, so here is the next chapter of the story, hope you all enjoy it! Big thank you so far to all those who have favourited, followed and reviewed the story, this story turned out to be far more popular than I thought it would be. So thanks for that, I do appreciate all the support, and those that point out ways to improve the story.**

**Hope you enjoy the new chapter. **

**Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions or suggestions then please feel free to PM me, I'm usually quite good at answering those. Also please do checkout my other stories if you have the time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elder Scrolls or Danmachi.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_"__Thank you." Hephaestus smiled, her words causing Welf to go a little pink, before he quickly turned back to his food, his face going even redder as Leo once again started talking to him, a gleeful smirk on the elf like teen's face as the younger boy clearly began teasing the redhead._

_Azoth, noticing this smirked, and then chuckled slightly under his breath. He was pretty happy with his choices thus far, and was looking forward to what tomorrow would bring. Not only would he be registering as an 'official' Adventurer and member of the Hephaestus Familia, he would also be getting his first look at the massive Dungeon that lay beneath the city of Orario._

**( - )**

**Chapter 8**

**( - )**

**(With Azoth)**

Waking up in his new bed the day after his welcoming feast, it took Azoth, for the second time in as many days, a few minutes to properly orientate himself and come to terms with his foreign, but very pleasant, surroundings.

Pushing himself up out of his bed, his white hair messy and sticking up awkwardly in several places, a classic example of bed head, he quickly cottoned onto where he was.

This was his current residence, a room in the Forgefire manor, the seat of the famous Hephaestus Familia.

Smiling at this realisation, Azoth got out of his bed and threw open the curtains, and then looked out onto the vibrant city of Orario. As places to stay went, or at least places he had stayed at before, this one was pretty great.

Then again considering he had slept in dungeons; tombs, stables, sewers, under the stars and in more than a few caves, one or two of which had been inhabited with trolls that was not really saying very much.

The fact that he had a comfortable bed was luxury enough, or at least in terms of comfort. In terms of quality of sleep though, well as far as that went it didn't matter what he slept on or where; be it a feather bed in a palace or plain rock outcropping on the top of a mountain. His beastblood never allowed him a restful slumber.

Grumbling to himself at that thought, Azoth grabbed a nearby pitcher of water off of his bed side table and took several gulps, draining the contents and washing away his foul morning breath and the taste of stale alcohol that he could taste on his tongue and in his mouth.

His regenerative healing factor and high metabolism, courtesy of being a Werewolf, might burn off any alcohol quickly and neutralise it from his system. But unfortunately his healing factor did nothing to ward off the dehydration caused by excessive consumption of alcohol, and currently he was pretty dehydrated, his pounding head told him that much.

Of course that just meant that the feast the previous evening had been a good one, and really it had been. He had gotten to meet most of the Familia, all of whom were 'unique' in their own special way.

Some like Nyssa and Leo were eccentric in their own way, and seemed to be constantly fidgeting or fiddling with one or doodad or another. Others like Beckendorf, Agil and Tsubaki were loud, charismatic and enthusiastic, the kind of people he liked drinking with. Still others were a complete mystery that he didn't get a chance to talk to properly, like Welf and the pinkette, Lisbeth.

That said, he hadn't really had a chance to speak to any of them in any real depth, but he at least had met them all briefly, all whilst sharing nearly a dozen flagons of ale and mead with them.

If there was one thing the Hephaestus Familia liked to do, it was drink.

Again though, that was something he could wholeheartedly get behind.

Rubbing his face with his hand, Azoth got out of bed and started to dress himself.

He was supposed to go to the Guild building today and officially register himself as a member of the Familia. On top of that he was supposed to be being shown to his personal workshop, and taken down into the Dungeon for his first foray too.

Buttoning up one of his new shirts, and pulling on a pair of charcoal coloured slacks and a pair of boots, Azoth quick got himself ready for the day to come. He would need to armour up for going down into the Dungeon later, but for now he would stick to wearing something comfortable.

Stretching and twisting his body this way and that, ignoring the numerous cracks and pops issuing forth from his spine and shoulders, he paused only long enough to grab his belt and the attached sword and dagger off of a nearby weapons rack before he headed down for some food and to find either Hephaestus, or that Welf kid, the one that was supposed to be showing him around.

At the thought of his fiery haired goddess, Azoth paused for a moment.

He had spoken to her last night as well. Not in any great depth of course, but she had taken him aside for a moment and showed him his 'stat' sheet, and wasn't that a novel thing.

Heading over to his desk, Azoth scooped up the page his goddess had shown him the previous night, his brow furrowing as he scanned down it and remembered the brief discussion he had had with Hephaestus the night before.

**( - )**

**(Last Night)**

_"__Quite frankly Azoth, your status is incredible." Hephaestus said bluntly, sitting behind her desk an unreadable expression on her face as she pushed the scroll of paper across her desk and over to the still standing Snow Elf._

_Picking up the scroll and unrolling it, Azoth had to hold back a frown of confusion as he inspected it, trying to work out what it all meant. _

_The skills, development abilities and spells he understood. They were all pretty self-explanatory. It seemed that the Falna, or Blessing, that he had been given had recognised certain proficiencies and skills that he had honed during his time as Meridia's Champion, and spells that he had learned, and then translated them over._

_How exactly it had done this, and what criteria it had used to do so, he had no idea. Nor did he think he ever would know. After all the magic of the divine was far too esoteric and capricious for even a master Archmage to understand, let alone an adept mage, at best, like him._

_Either way though, he understood the basis of where his skills and abilities had come from. That all made sense to him, even if he wasn't totally sure what the letters next to his 'development abilities' meant. _

_What did confuse him though was what the other numbers and letters meant: _

_Strength: B867 _

_Endurance: S999 _

_Dexterity: B715_

_Agility: C732 _

_Magic:_ _E567_

_He assumed they had to do with his 'level' maybe, or his overall abilities, but that was really all he could infer._

_Shaking his head at this, Azoth continued to scan the parchment for a few minutes, taking it all in, before with a shrug he rolled it up once again and made to hand it back over to his goddess._

_"__Keep it, I've got a copy." Hephaestus replied calmly, the redheaded woman leaning back in her chair now and surveying him curiously as she did so._

_"__Fair enough," Azoth nodded, slipping the roll of parchment into his pocket without complaint. He would peruse it more at another time._

_"__Before you go however, I was curious about one of your skills. Would you mind me asking you about it?" Hephaestus pushed on, her expression still calm and her tone pleasant._

_This wasn't a demand or an order, Azoth could tell that much from the tone of her voice, it meant as a question, a request, one that he knew he could deny or refuse to answer if he so wished._

_But at present he saw no issue in divulging more about himself to the goddess. Thus far she had done right be him, and had proven herself to be pretty decent as far as celestial beings went. _

_She was far more pleasant than Meridia had ever been, even on her best day, and, well there was no comparison in regards the other Daedric Princes he had met. Most of whom were pure evil to say the least._

_"__Go for it," Azoth replied after a moment, sidling forward and slipping into the seat opposite Hephaestus as he did so._

_"__The Chosen of Akatosh,_ _the description says that this unique skills allows you to 'speak in the ancient language of the dragons,' and that it gives you the capability 'of absorbing the souls of any dragons and then use the power and knowledge received from these devoured souls to unleash dragon shouts'." Hephaestus paused as she said this, her red eyes flicking up to meet Azoth's violet ones. "What are 'dragon shouts'?"_

_Azoth smiled as he heard her question. "That's a fair question, and one that is easy enough to explain in the most simplest of terms, but incredibly difficult to explain if you want more detail."_

_"__Keep it simple then," Hephaestus nodded, her lip quirking upwards for a moment. "If you don't mind."_

_"__Not at all," Azoth replied easily. "Dragon shouts are just that; shouts spoken in the ancient language of the dragons from my homeland. They are, I suppose you could say, words of power. You speak the words and reality conforms to make what you speak come to pass."_

_Hephaestus's eyes widened a slither as she digested his explanation. "So it is a form of powerful magic then, one that can be cast verbally, with no need for a staff or hand gestures?"_

_"__Pretty much," Azoth shrugged, she pretty much hit the nail on the head with her explanation. Taking away all of the spiritualism, theology and meditation that the Greybeards loved to talk about. The Thu'um was essentially a unique form of magic. After all just like with magic the user could use their power to contort reality. Effectively it was just magic without the requirement for magicka to be used to wield it. Instead it was powered by the strength of the user's soul. _

_"__And the ability to absorb the souls of slain dragons and consume their power and knowledge?" Hephaestus pressed._

_"__Well it is pretty self-explanatory," Azoth shrugged, flashing a smile as he did so. "I can absorb the souls of dragons. In doing so I absorb both the souls' power; which I then use to bolster the power of my own soul, and my shouts in turn, oh and I absorb the memories connected to the soul too."_

_Hephaestus frowned as she heard this, her brow furrowing. "So you are able to devour souls?"_

_"__Yes," Azoth nodded. "Only the souls of dragons though."_

_Hephaestus continued to look at him for a few moments after he answered, her red eyes boring into him curiously. "I have never heard of a skill like this before, the ability to influence and interact with souls, even those of monsters and beasts, it has always be the sole domain of the gods. Yet I sense no lies coming from your tongue, nor would the status sheet lie either. It should be impossible!"_

_As she said this Hephaestus continued to stare at Azoth, her eyes roaming over his face hungrily, as if she were unable to look away._

_"__From my experience," Azoth said lightly, not at all uncomfortable with the attention. "Nothing is impossible. The world is a large place and full of endless peculiarities. I've long since stopped pondering on what is and is not impossible, and have instead decided to take it all in stride."_

_Hephaestus's gaze softened slightly, and her lips quirked upwards in amusement. "Well put, I always forget how odd you mortals are. Your kind, you are all so capricious and unpredictable. Even after all the centuries that I have lived amongst you mortals and alongside you, your kind still find new ways to surprise me."_

_The redhead let out a slight laugh as she said this, amusement and joy entering her gaze now as she continued to gaze at him warmly, her lips curving upward into a genuine smile as she continued to gaze at him in fascination. _

_"__Well we like to keep things interesting, don't we?" Azoth replied bemusedly. _

_"__Yes, yes you do," Hephaestus laughed, standing up from behind her desk, with Azoth quickly mirroring her actions. "Well come along then Azoth, you've answered everything I want to know, let's return to the party. I am sure more than a few of your new brothers and sisters will still be up and about. It's one of the good things about my Familia, my children, they may like to work very hard, but they like to play just as hard too."_

_"__Ha, they sound like my kind of people," Azoth said warmly, following the beautiful redhead as she lead the way back to the party, a smile still very prominently on her face._

**( - )**

Walking down the stairs, Azoth quickly entered the hall where the feast had taken place last night, his violet eyes flicking around the room as he entered, only for him to see that it was pretty much empty.

At present there were only three people sat at the large dining table; Leo, Beckendorf and Welf, the trio of teenaged boys/ young men that he had met in passing last night.

"Morning, newbie!" Leo called out the moment Azoth entered, the short, half elf grinning cheekily as he kicked out a chair next to him and gestured him over.

"Careful there Leo, that newbie could turn you into mincemeat if you're not careful." Beckendorf laughed, the large, broad shouldered human smith cuffing the shorter teen around the back of his head, before he then ruffled the smaller teen's curly black hair and grinned over at Azoth in welcome.

"I know, I know it was just a joke," Leo rolled his eyes fighting off Beckendorf's large hand as he did so.

Taking the seat offered, Azoth quickly started helping himself to breakfast. "Not many others around are there?"

"Nah, most of them are probably at their forges by now. That or their sleeping in after drinking too much last night." Beckendorf shrugged, before grinning good-naturedly at Azoth. "By the way, I don't think we spoke properly last night. I didn't introduce myself properly, the name's Charles Beckendorf, but everyone just calls me Beckendorf."

"Nice to meet you," Azoth nodded, taking the proffered hand in his own, noting as he did so the numerous callouses on the teen hands and the roughness of his skin. The man definitely had the hands of a blacksmith.

"I'm Leo, Leo Valdez. It's short, sweet and the ladies love it!" Leo piped up next, grinning up at Azoth as he did so.

Azoth fought back the desire to roll his eyes at this. Honestly it was still early in the morning and the kid was hyper. He was acting like a kid that had just eaten a dozen sweet rolls in a row and now didn't know what to do with himself.

"Pleasure," Azoth nodded dryly. It was a bit too early in the morning for someone to be acting so damned happy. It was unseemly.

"Ah don't mind Leo, he's just a spaz, he doesn't mean any harm." Beckendorf laughed, ruffling Leo's hair again much to the shorter boy's irritation as he tried and failed to fight him off again.

Smiling at this, Azoth finished dishing out his breakfast and looked to the last member of the group. "It's Welf isn't it?"

Welf looked up as he heard his name called. The tall, redheaded teen eyeing Azoth cautiously as he did so before he nodded. "Yeah, it's Welf, Welf Crozzo."

"Azoth," Azoth nodded in reply, watching Welf curiously as he did so. The way the teen was looking at him, it was almost as if he expected Azoth to recognise his name. "I think I spoke to you briefly last night."

"Aye, we spoke. But you were pretty drunk at the time." Welf nodded, his brow knitting together as he eyed Azoth. Apparently this was not the reaction the teen had been expecting.

"It's the best way to be at a feast," Beckendorf laughed.

Azoth nodded at that, a slight smile on his face as he glanced sideways at the dark haired human. He was loud and proud, like most Nords tended to be. He could see himself getting along with the teen.

"So anyway Azoth I have to ask, why did you join this Familia?" Leo suddenly spoke up, leaning forwards as he did so. "I mean you're Level Six Adventurer, a First class one, right!? You could have been accepted into any Familia you wanted, even the Loki or Freya Familia's! Not that I am complaining about you joining the Hephaestus one or anything!"

"I'm a blacksmith at heart," Azoth shrugged. "This Familia was the best choice for me. I mean it gave me access to a forge and all the tools I need, and an opportunity to join a party heading into the depths of the Dungeon and acquire rare items and materials when I need to."

"That is true, it is handy having a personal workshop." Beckendorf nodded. "What do you specialise in by the way? Do you forge weapons, or armour or something else?"

"Predominantly weapons and armour." Azoth replied with a shrug. "I supposed you could say that I specialise in enchanted items though."

"Magic swords?" Beckendorf asked, his gaze flicking down to the beautiful, sheathed sword at Azoth's hip, before oddly enough flicking over the quiet Welf.

"Amongst other things, yeah." Azoth said, looking between Welf and Beckendorf curiously as he did so. "For the moment though I need to forge myself a new set of armour. My old one got a bit too banged up and isn't all that serviceable anymore."

Leo grimaced. "It's shit when that happens! I mean I know it come hand in hand with making weapons and armour. You know them being used and abused. But still, it's always a punch in the gut when you find out that something you made was destroyed."

"The curse of being a smith," Beckendorf shrugged. "We all have to get used to it."

"True, but I always like to think positive and take any failures an opportunity to improve on what I did before so that it doesn't meet the same fate." Azoth added on easily. "That also is part of being a smith, you need to keep developing and honing your skills, constantly evolving and improving your craft."

"I'll drink to that," Beckendorf laughed, lifting a glass of orange juice into the air as he did so.

Azoth smiled, and did the same, his smile widening slightly as he tasted the sweetness of the juice. It was good.

"So anyway, what are you up to for the rest of the day?" Beckendorf continued jovially.

"I'm being shown around mostly. Hephaestus said she'll show me my new forge later. For now though I need to head to the Guild Building and register as a part of the Familia, and then I reckon I'll get some cheap armour and head into the Dungeon." Azoth shrugged, before looking over at Welf. "I am not sure if you remember, Welf but…"

"Yeah I remember," Welf cut him off, his tone not aggressive, but still slightly impatient. "That's why I'm still here and not in my workshop."

"What's this?" Leo asked curiously.

"Lady Hephaestus asked me to show him around and take him to the Guild Building, and then down into the Dungeon." Welf shot back, his tone again bordering on impatience.

Internally Azoth sensed that the younger man was not entirely happy with the duties his goddess had foisted upon him.

"Ah cheer up Welfy," Beckendorf laughed. "It'll only be for a few hours, and then you can go and hole yourself up in your workshop again!"

"Yeah besides, it's not like anyone buys your armour anyway." Leo tagged on, his elfin features twisting up into a teasing smile.

Welf scowled at the comment though, apparently he didn't appreciate the teasing, even as turned to look at the diminutive half elf.

Before he could say anything however, Beckendorf had already acted and had cuffed Leo on the back of his head. "That's enough, Leo. You need to learn when enough is enough. Sorry about that Welf, but you know Leo, he can be a right little shit sometimes!"

"Hey, I'm not!" Leo shouted out.

"I didn't need your help!" Welf said harshly at the same time, an awkward tension suddenly descending on the eating group.

Welf now scowling down at his food.

Leo frowning and playing about with the remains of his breakfast, with him occasionally sending irritated looks at Beckendorf and awkward glances at Welf as he did so.

Beckendorf however just looked resigned.

"Something I'm missing here?" Azoth spoke into the sudden tense silence.

"It's nothing." Welf replied suddenly, standing up from his seat as he did so. "I'll be waiting in the hall for you. We'll go when you've finished."

With that said the redhead quickly left the room.

"Wait, Welf!" Beckendorf called out after him beseechingly.

Welf however ignored him and quickly left the room, the door slamming shut loudly behind him.

Silence quickly descended around the table once again at this.

"What was all that about?" Azoth asked bluntly into the silence.

"It's an ongoing issue," Beckendorf said after a moment, sending a slight frown at Leo as he did so. "Welf, well Welf is one of the last members of the Crozzo family. You know the family famous for creating the strongest magical swords in the world."

"And?" Azoth pressed, not admitting to the other two that this in fact was the first time he had ever heard of the Crozzo family and their apparently legendary magic swords.

"And Welf is the last of their family with the skill to craft magical swords." Leo said shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Despite that though he refuses to make them. He says that they can't be relied upon and so just ignores his natural talent for making them and creates normal armour and weapons instead. It's waste."

"If that's what he chooses to do, then so what?" Azoth shrugged.

"Well, there's a lot of smiths in the Familia that think he is wasting his gods given talent." Beckendorf replied uncomfortably. "If Welf made magic swords then he could bring even greater acclaim and wealth to the Familia, more so than any other member. But instead he doesn't, for the sake of his own pride he refuses. It annoys quite a few of the other smiths, you know the fact he has this skill but never uses it."

"You mean they're jealous and petty?" Azoth asked bluntly, a slight frown on his face now.

"Basically, yeah." Beckendorf nodded. "Welf's just been getting a lot of flak for his decision, and I guess it's starting to weigh on him."

"Hey, just to defend myself here. I meant what I just said as a joke, not as a criticism!" Leo piped up defensively.

"Really?" Beckendorf asked, the frown currently on his face completely at odds with the smile he previously wore. A scowl looked just plain unnatural on the previously gregarious man's face.

"Sounds to me like everyone needs to lay off him a bit, and like he needs to grow more of a backbone and tell people to piss off." Azoth mused out loud.

He knew for a fact that if anyone mouthed off at him like that, that he would not take it for a moment. No, he wasn't the kind of person that allowed anyone to bully him. If someone had a go at him, he would turn around and give it back at them, except twice as bad.

"Yeah, I've tried telling people to lay off, and so have Tsubaki and Lady Hephaestus, and mostly they do, or at least most of the time." Beckendorf shrugged.

Azoth nodded at that. Honestly, he wasn't surprised. A Familia was supposed to be like a family, and if this family were anything like the people he had grown up with in Riften; then that meant that there would be a lot of sniping, bitching and fighting.

"Right," Azoth said after a few more minutes of silence, finishing off his breakfast as he did so. "I'd better head off, you know, things to do and all that."

"Ok man, have a good day. Hope everything goes well." Beckendorf nodded, getting up from the table too as he did so. "Also when you see Welf, tell him sorry ok. Leo didn't mean to be a dick, did you Leo?"

Leo didn't reply to Beckendorf's words at first, instead he continued to play about with the remains of his breakfast.

When Beckendorf nudged him with his arm though he finally deigned to reply.

"Yeah, yeah tell him I'm sorry. I'll tell him that too when I next see him." Leo replied, not making eye contact with either of them.

"I'll pass it on," Azoth nodded, even as he turned and headed for the door, and then stepped outside. "You two have a good day doing whatever it is you decide to do too!"

**( - )**

**(A few minutes later)**

Making his way to the main hallway a minute or so later, Azoth found Welf already waiting for him. The redheaded teen currently wearing a black knee length coat now, over the top of his dark shirt and slacks, and some light armour he had over his chest, shins and forearms. Noticeably he also had a blue scarf tied around his neck. With the teen also having a large, black handled, single edged great sword sheathed his back, and a large canvas bag on the floor at his booted feet.

"Good you're here." Welf said as Azoth approached, the Snow Elf himself wearing a white shirt, black slacks, and his black leather boots, with his sword Dawnbreaker on his right hip and his Daedric dagger on his other.

"Sorry for the wait," Azoth replied with a smile. "Just had to finish off my breakfast, because you know, well as any Adventurer should know really; it's the most important meal of the day!"

"Right," Welf said unenthusiastically, before he nudged the large bag at his feet. "I brought this for you. You can use it if you want."

"What is it?" Azoth asked as he approached and came to a stop just in front of the shorter man, looking down at the bag now.

"Some armour I made. You said you didn't have any at the moment, didn't you?" Welf replied, meeting his violet eyes with his own blue ones. "I mean you don't have to wear it if you don't want to. If you want to look for something better, then that's fine."

Azoth didn't reply to that, or at least not at first. Instead he opened the bag and pulled out a large, silver breastplate, his violet eyes scanning the surface of the gleaming metal as he inspected it for cracks, indentations or other imperfections.

It was light armour, not what he usually wore. But despite that it was well made, and serviceable enough. Sure it wasn't a masterpiece, in fact Azoth knew he could create a much better set out of either; malachite, dragonscale, or moonstone and quicksilver, but still it would do the job.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad at all." Azoth nodded, a smile on his face as he looked up at Welf. "I'd gladly wear it. Tell you what, give me a minute or two and I'll run up to my room get the armour on, grab my axe, and then we can head off."

Welf blinked in surprise at this, but then managed a slight smile. "Yeah sure."

Grinning, Azoth hefted the sack of armour up and headed up the stairs.

**( - )**

**(Sometime Later)**

Walking down the high street and in the direction of the Guild building, both Welf and Azoth walked side by side, the two of them chatting amiably to one another. With Azoth now wearing a set of light armour, courtesy of Welf. The armour pieces having been strapped over his padded shirt and trousers. The recently forged armour pieces gleaming in the mid-morning sun as they walked.

Perhaps more prominent than his new armour though, was Wuuthrad, with the large double bladed battle-axe having also been strapped to Azoth's back again, even as Dawnbreaker and his Daedric dagger were sheathed at his right and left hip respectively.

Heading towards the Guild building Welf, noticeably much happier than he had been before, pointed out different landmarks to the Snow Elf, enthusing on the different drinking establishments they passed, and on where the best shops for materials and supplies were.

Azoth in turn took all this in stride. He had already explored the area the day before, and found a favoured drinking establishment prior to even joining the Familia, the Hostess of Fertility.

Despite this though, he humoured the younger man, and accepted his friendly intentions and advice all the same.

Welf Crosso, Azoth noted, was actually a pretty decent guy, or at least he was once he stopped moping about.

He was a good guy, pretty open and simple, but good all the same. There didn't appear to be a side to him. What you saw was what you got.

It was refreshing, or at least it was for Azoth.

Growing up in the Thieves Guild in Riften, Azoth had become used to second guessing people's intentions. It was a habit he still did, even now many years later. It was a habit that most people would call a mixture of paranoia and cynicism, but that he just called good sense.

"So anyway, yeah, this is the Guild building, it's pretty much the most important place in the city, you know besides the Dungeon and the Tower of Babel." Welf said, coming to a stop in front of a massive, ornate looked building, a set of marble steps noticeably going up to an open set of double doors just in front of them.

"It looks grand," Azoth nodded, eyeing the place up. "And extravagant."

"Well I suppose that that is because it is." Welf shrugged, leading the way up the steps. "The place acts as both a bank, the main government building and a gathering place for Adventurers to get information and quests. So yeah it's pretty flashy."

Azoth nodded at that, even as they entered the building's cavernous main room, a series of counters running along one whole side, behind which smartly dressed men and women of all races were sat serving Adventurers and other customers.

"Come on, there is an open booth over there." Welf said, nodding towards one of the booths, behind which a dark haired woman was sat, her green eyes locking on the pair as they approached.

The woman, Azoth thought as they weaved their way towards her, had the ears and facial features of an elf, however he noted traces of humanity in her features too. Her face was a little too round for an elves, and her features although pretty were not quite angular enough, now her ears long or sharp enough. Taking note of all of this, Azoth came to the conclusion that this woman, like Leo, was a half elf.

"Good morning Adventurers, my names is Eina, how may I help you today?" The now named Eina asked pleasantly, smiling up at the duo, even as Welf leant against the wall just beside the counter and then gestured for Azoth to step forward and do the talking.

"Ah, good morning, Miss Eina, my name is Azoth and I am here to register for my new Familia." Azoth said, choosing to be a bit politer than he usually would be. After all he knew from personal experience what these government and bureaucracy types were like. Treat them like shit and they would be purposefully slow and unhelpful, be nice however and then they suddenly become much more proficient.

"Oh of course that's no problem, I'll just need you to fill out this form." Eina replied agreeably, a smile on her face as she pushed a sheet across the counter to Azoth, along with a quill and an ink pot. "Can I ask what Familia you have joined?"

"The Hephaestus Familia," Azoth replied with a smile, taking the form and the quill before he then began to quickly fill it in. Fortunately it was only asking for the most basic of information, information that he suspected that they would most likely corroborate with his goddess before they 'officially' registered him.

"Oh I see, and thank you," Eina said, even as Azoth finished filling in the form and handed it to her, with her then scanning it over, likely to make sure he had filled everything he needed to in and not missed anything.

It was a pretty simple form; and just required a name, an age, a Familia, and a Level. It was the bare minimum in terms of information. No doubt this was because the different Familia's in the city recognised that knowledge was power, and thus attempted to keep as many secrets as they could.

"Wait," Eina said sharply, her tone catching Azoth off guard as he looked up at the suddenly startled looking elf, Welf stirring too as he looked sideways. "This says that you're Level Six!"

"Well, yes," Azoth nodded, "That's because I am a Level Six Adventurer."

"But then why are you only just now registering as an Adventurer?" Eina asked, looking down at the form again. The half elf looked like she was on the verge of having a panic attack. "And why have I never heard of you?"

"Well I am new to the city, I literally arrived here for the first time a few days ago." Azoth shrugged, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I mean I am a seasoned Adventurer already, I am just new to the city is all, so that' why I am here, because I need to register here and get the mandatory Guild advisor. Speaking of which would it be you who would be my new advisor?"

"Erm, well yes it tends to be policy that the one who registers the new Adventurer becomes their advisor for their first month of Dungeon diving." Eina said dazedly.

"Brilliant, then I look forward to working with you!" Azoth said, a bright smile on his face as he looked down at the half elf.

"Yes, well I look forward to working with you too, though honestly, I'm not sure how much help I can be to someone like you. Advisors are usually only assigned to new Adventurers, Level Ones. I mean I have heard of Level Two newcomers to the city being given advisors too when they first register, but I've never heard of a Level Six having one." Again Eina sounded a little faint as she spoke, even as she continued to stare at Azoth in awe.

Then again considering there were apparently only a dozen or so Level Six adventurers in the known world, maybe this wasn't so surprising.

"Well either way, I look forward to your counsel and advice." Azoth nodded a smile on his, even as he stuck his hand out to the half elf.

Weakly taking his hand, Eina allowed him to shake it twice before she let go. "Erm is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, I don't think so. I reckon Welf here can answer any questions I've forgotten." Azoth smiled, gesturing over at the redhead as he did so. "That said though, Welf and I were going to head down into the Dungeon now if that isn't a problem?"

"Oh no, not at all. I'd say be careful, but well considering your Level I think that such advice is a bit perfunctory." Eina said, trailing off at the end with a nervous laugh, even as she continued to fiddle with his registration form.

"Not at all, in my experience you can never be too careful. No matter how big and tough you are, there is always someone bigger and tougher out there." Azoth replied with a bright smile.

"Well yes, I suppose." Said Eina a weak smile still on her face as she began to fill in the bits of the form she was supposed to before passing it on so it could be approved, verified and filed.

"Well anyway, thanks for all the help. I'll drop by after we've finished in the Dungeon, you know to cash in a few of those monster soul gems." Azoth called out, even as he started walking away, waving his goodbye to Eina as he did so.

"Ok, good luck!" Eina called after him, the half elf still seemingly out of sorts as she then went back to staring at his registration form in amazement.

"Well she seemed pleasant." Azoth said as he and Welf headed back down the steps and towards the Dungeon entrance.

"Really, she seemed a bit ditsy and out of it to me. I reckon you might have knocked her for a loop back there." Welf said with a short laugh as the two of them weaved their way through the crowds.

"True, she did seem a bit out of sorts." Azoth nodded with a slight laugh of his own.

"By the way Azoth, back in the Guild building, why did you call monster crystals, monster soul gems?" Welf asked suddenly, even as they began to near the Tower of Babel and the entrance to the Dungeon that had long since been sealed beneath the colossal tower.

"Well that's effectively what they are aren't they?" Azoth replied with a shrug.

Welf sent him a quizzical look at this, but said no more as they soon joined a large crowd of other Adventurers; all of them wearing armour both light, heavy and plate, or mage like robes; and carrying a multitude of gleaming weapons, some which were magical but most of which was not, that or they were carrying long ornate staffs.

Merging with the crowd, both Welf and Azoth soon found themselves descending the steps to the first floor of the Dungeon. Neither one of them drawing their weapons yet as they instead just followed the crowd of other Adventurers into the gloomy labyrinthine like first floor. The many groups of Adventurers splitting up the further in they got, as some headed lower and others started hunting monsters on the first floor so as to warm up for what lay further below

"So what do you want to do?" Welf asked as he and Azoth departed from the crowd and began to walk through the Dungeon's gloomy corridors, side by side. "We can stay on this floor, and get you used to Dungeon fighting. Everything on this floor is pretty easy. Or if you want we can head to one of the lower floors and start there?"

"Hmm, well you don't need to worry about me fighting in enclosed spaces. I have plenty of experience fighting in tombs and underground and such." Azoth said easily, placing his hand on his sword and drawing the first inch, loosening it so he could draw it quickly if he needed too. "What's the furthest you've ever been?"

"I made it to Level Ten once." Welf shrugged, "But that's the deepest I've ever been. For a Level One it is probably the deepest you can safely go, and that's even with a group of one or two other, and even then it is a little risky."

"Fair enough, we'll stick to the first ten floors for now then. I don't want to take you out of your comfort zone," Azoth nodded, his violet eyes narrowing as the two of them walked through the many passage, getting deeper and deeper into the Dungeon, until without warning they arrived at a large dark cavern.

"You don't have to do that." Welf said, only to stop talking as he saw Azoth raise a hand, even as he saw the dark open space in front of them, Welf's own hand moving up to grip the hilt of his sword in readiness.

Raising his hand, Azoth cast Magelight, a glowing ball of white light forming in his hand before without a word he threw it up and into the air, where it remained bobbing about in the air like a miniature sun, the orb bringing light to every crevice and crack in the area. Revealing as it did so a score of small, dirty, humanoid creatures with dog like features and long, sharp dirt encrusted claws.

"Kobolds," Welf said unconcernedly, drawing his great sword. "And there is a lot of them, this is a monster pantry by the looks of it. That was a good spot back there by the way. I didn't know you could use magic, and magic without a chant either for that matter!"

"Hmm, oh that, that's just a Magelight spell, it's pretty basic. I've got much better spells in my repertoire than that." Azoth said easily, reaching behind him and pulling Wuuthrad off of his back as he did so, revealing to Welf for the first time the beautiful and terrifying carvings of battle and screaming faces on the blade as he swung it around and pointed it at the biggest, and ugliest of the Kobolds. "By the way, that bastards mine!"

"What?" Welf asked dazedly, tearing his gaze away from the deadly and beautiful axe as he instead looked over at Azoth.

Azoth though had already jumped into action, his feet all but silent as he crossed the ten metre distance between him and the group of Kobolds in all but a few seconds, his large axe tearing through the air with a shrieking sound as he cleaved the first Kobold in half with a single swing, before decimating three more before the foul creatures even knew what had happened.

"Hey, wait!" Welf shouted, running forward with his own blade now, even as Azoth danced around the weak monsters, massacring them with impunity not showing the slightest of strains, despite the obvious weight of his weapon.

In fact by the time Welf crossed the distance and joined the battle two thirds of them were already dead, and the rest were utterly panicking, which in turn made it even easier for the two smiths to finish off the last third. The whole fight taking less than two minutes, and leaving behind twenty or so small monster crystals and a couple of drop items for the victors to collect.

"So this was easy," Azoth said, swinging his axe up and resting it on his shoulder as he looked over at the thunderstruck Welf. "How about we head down to Level Five next, and kill a few dozen monsters down there to warm up? After which I reckon we can head further down to Level Ten, hopefully something down there can put up more of a fight!"

"Erm, yeah right…" Welf muttered looking around at the now empty cavern in surprise. "Sure, why not…"

**( - )**

**AN: So what did you all think? We got some more interaction with his goddess, his Familia, the Guild and finally he makes it to the Dungeon. The next chapter will show more about that as the plot begins to grow and expand. There will be bits of the Sword Princess story arc and main story arc in this story, as well as some original stuff as I want to develop some of the other Familia's in Orario, and explore the Dungeon a lot more than I feel is done in canon, as in canon the story is focused on only a couple of Familia and the Dungeon, only invariably appears. Like serious it appears once in the entire second season.**

**Also congrats to those who picked up on the references to SAO and Percy Jackson characters, I'm impressed. That said do remember that these are not those characters, despite the naming, that was just a bit of whimsy on my part, they are instead their own characters and will thus act in different ways and have completely different ways. They are in fact OCs, just OCs that I've given names to that references blacksmiths from other fandoms. Again just a bit of innocent fun on my part, there is not deeper purpose to it.**

**But yes anyway, I've got plenty of stuff planned. So thanks for all of the support and I hope you continue to enjoy reading. Please do check out my other stories, and what not. **

**Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later.**

**Greed720. **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So hello all, it's been a while hasn't it. Sorry about that I've just been very busy with real life. Started a new job, had Christmas rock up, had to deal with a busted up car. Run of the mill stuff that just takes up time. That said I do appreciate all those who stuck with the story, and those who messaged me too, both about the story and out of concern, I appreciate the thought.**

**That said I have but an overall summary of my thoughts on all my active stories, so feel free to check that out if you follow any of my other stories.**

**Other than that here is the next chapter, I think I may need to refresh myself on the source material soon, as I've not worked on the story for a while, and so don't have all the pertinent plot points and events in my mind any more.**

**Other than that I hope you all enjoy the chapter and leave a review. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or the Elder Scrolls.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_In fact by the time Welf crossed the distance and joined the battle two thirds of them were already dead, and the rest were utterly panicking, which in turn made it even easier for the two smiths to finish off the last third. The whole fight taking less than two minutes, and leaving behind twenty or so small monster crystals and a couple of drop items for the victors to collect._

_"So this was easy," Azoth said, swinging his axe up and resting it on his shoulder as he looked over at the thunderstruck Welf. "How about we head down to Level Five next, and kill a few dozen monsters down there to warm up? After which I reckon we can head further down to Level Ten, hopefully something down there can put up more of a fight!"_

_"Erm, yeah right…" Welf muttered looking around at the now empty cavern in surprise. "Sure, why not…"_

**( - )**

**Chapter 9**

**( - )**

**(In the Dungeon)**

Swinging Wuuthrad around Azoth could both see and feel the axe's heavy, ornately decorated blade easily cleave through the large, grotesque body in front of him.

The creature letting loose a screech of pain in response, it's colossal mass lashing out in pain and anger. Its form, which easily stood over nine feet tall looming over the Snow Elf.

Azoth wasn't sure what the pig faced creature was, but from what he could see it was an immense, mottled, grey mass of fat, muscle and sadistic cruelty.

Leaping back as the creature let loose a howl of pain and anger, Azoth managed to avoid a heavy swing from one of the creature's fellows. A quick smile crossing his angular face, even as he then darted forward, one of his armoured boots landing on the attacking creature's club as it smashed into the ground. His hands whipping around as he then swung the long hafted axe at the surprised beast, his violet eyes gleaming with delight as his axe bit deeply into the thick flesh around the attacking creature's throat.

Crashing backwards onto the misty floor, greyish black blood fountaining out of the tear in its neck, the creature could only let out an agonized gurgle as it frantically spasmed on the ground. Its giant, dirty grey hands, each of which looked big enough, and strong enough, to crush an average person's skull, scrabbling at its futilely throat as it rapidly died.

Ignoring this pitiable sight, Azoth instead continued forward, his blade swinging up and around again as he hacked down the one he had previously injured, black blood showering down on him and the mist enshrouded ground below him, even as he dodged around the beast's collapsing body and slammed his axe into, and through, the spine of another of the beasts.

This, this was fun.

Exploring the city of Orario, his new base. home, that was all well and good. So to was meeting new and interesting people, some of which belonged to races he had never even heard of before, whilst others were Divine Beings. Divine Beings that weren't like the ones he knew, as in they weren't absolute psychotic monsters.

All of that was interesting, and exciting in a way.

But it didn't hold a candle to the feeling of being in battle.

Sure his current foes were comparable weak when compared to some of the things he had fought over the years. Hell he had fought bears that were tougher than these ogre like beings.

Despite this though, he could still feel his heart racing and his soul soaring as he darted through the half dozen large lumbering bodies, his axe a grey silver blur as he cleaved through his enemies with ease.

It was a difficult feeling to describe really, the sense of oneness and joy that came with doing something you excel in. Which in Azoth's case at the moment, was fighting.

If he could liken it to anything, he would say it was like the feeling he had when he was working in the forge. The heat of the embers scorching his skin and causing sweat to bead down his face. The ache in his arms as he used a hammer to pound a lump of metal into a work of deadly art. The satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that came with completing a project.

Honestly, Azoth was a bit of a strange elf, and he knew it.

He was not very magically inclined, nor was he all that good with a bow. Art, poetry, music, none of that came easily to him either, not as easily as it seemed to come to high elves, dark elves and wood elves. There was a reason he had been kicked out of the Bard's college after all, and it wasn't just because he refused to go on one of their many 'quests' to find the multiple instruments and items that the wasters at the college seemed to lose.

No, out of all of his kin, the only ones Azoth really felt any kinship towards were the Orismer, or the orcs as they were commonly called.

They were a warrior race that excelled in smithing and lived by a strict code of honour and duty. All of which Azoth could get behind. On top of that the orcs were shunned by the other elves, ignored and despised.

As the last of the Snow Elves, or at least as far as he knew, he could understand the feeling.

From what he had found out, when his kind had needed help; and had gone to their kin, the Dwemer, for aid they had been tricked, abused, blinded and enslaved.

Considering the way they were treated by their cousins, was it truly any wonder that his once proud race had devolved into the monstrous Falmer?

Azoth shook his head at that thought. His mind was wandering. If this had been an actually challenging fight, such a lapse in concentration could have been fatal.

With that thought in mind, Azoth wrenched his axe blade out of the skull of one of the beasts, and then turned and jabbed Wuuthrad forward like a spear. The spike tipped head of the axe stabbing up and into the throat last of the beasts.

A look of shock crossing the creature's piggy face as it realised what had happened. Only for Azoth to finish it off with a bolt of chained lightning to the face, the lance of crackling, white lightning erupting from his free hand and frying the creatures brain. The force and ferocity of the blast incidentally causing its small beady eyes to explode too, splattering Azoth with black blood.

"Disgusting." Azoth muttered, taking a step back as he saw the creature fall back and then explode into black dust, a small purple soul gem falling to the misty ground, even as its essence, like that of its fellows, was reabsorbed by the Dungeon.

From what Hephaestus had told him, the monsters down here never truly died. They were sort of like dragons in that their souls continued to exist, even though their earthly forms were killed. Give it a few days or weeks and these creatures would be respawned somewhere within the Dungeon, no doubt with a supreme hatred of axe wielding elves.

Rolling his shoulders, Azoth gave a cursory glance down at Wuuthrad's flawless blade, inspecting the ancient weapon for any potential damage.

Not that he expected to see any. If the blade could still keep its edge after crushing and breaking through Alduin all but impenetrable scales, then the chances of it getting damaged whilst using it to filet some porky monsters were all but non-existent.

"That was…" A voice spoke up behind him, attracting Azoth's attention as he swung his axe around the blood sliding clean off of it and spattering onto the dark ground as he did so. "That was impressive." The voice finished.

"Thanks," Azoth smiled warmly, strapping his axe back onto his back as he turned to face his redheaded companion. "You didn't do that bad yourself. That must have been a good dozen Imps you cut through with that big 'choppa' of yours."

As he said this Azoth's violet eyes flickered over to redheaded Smith's weapon of choice. It was a five foot long, single edged sword. One which had a slight curve to it, a long hilt and no guard to speak of.

The most noticeably thing about it though, and the reason why Azoth couldn't help but think of the weapon as a 'choppa', was the width of the blade. The blade must have been six inches plus wide at the tang, with the blade then gently tapering to the tip. The sword itself looking less like an elegant blade, and more like a cross between a falchion and meat cleaver.

"They're just Imps." Welf replied brusquely, deliberately looking away from Azoth now and instead out at the dark, and misty area around them.

Smiling slightly at the younger man's actions, Azoth let out a chuckle. "Aye, they may just be Imps. But with nasty buggers like them, quantity counts a lot more than quality."

Welf shifted at these words, but didn't immediately reply. Instead he continued to stare out at their surroundings for a moment, before he turned back to Azoth and noticeably changed the topic of the conversation. "So how's the armour holding up?"

Allowing the change in topic, Azoth glanced down at the once immaculate and brightly polished silver armour, and then grinned.

Three or so hours in the Dungeon had certainly taken their toll on the protective gear. The light armour was now spattered with black blood, and encrusted in dirt. Small scratches and nicks also littered the pauldrons and chest plate, damage caused by the general wear and tear of battle, and something that could easily be buffed out in an afternoon.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Azoth replied with a smile, his lip curling upwards as he saw a flash of satisfaction pass across Welf's face for a moment. As a smith himself, Azoth knew the feeling. It felt pretty good to have someone acknowledge your hard work.

"I'll admit it's a bit light for my tastes. I usually prefer heavier, more durable armour. But it is definitely doing its job, that and I'll admit it is an oddly refreshing feeling to feel so free and light on my feet in a battle." Azoth continued, he knew what it felt like to be complimented for his work, but he didn't go out of his way to flatter people and stoke their egos.

Welf's smile faded at this, but didn't quite turn into a scowl. Instead the redhead looked thoughtful. "You got any suggestions?"

"I would try experimenting with different materials. If you want the armour to be light, but still strong, then it might be worthwhile to look at using monster hide and scales to reinforce the armour. That is if you want it to remain light and flexible, whilst still retaining its strength." Azoth said, pausing for a moment a thoughtful look on his face as he examined the armour. "I mean it's not bad, but to get the lightest of the armour you've needed to make the metal thinner, which in turn has effected its durability, and the ease with which it picks up wear and tear."

Azoth flicked his finger against a centimetre deep nick on the edge of his pauldron to emphasis his point. If he could equate the armour to anything he would say it was similar to a poorly made set of elven light armour. Better than nothing, but not as good as it could be.

Again Welf frowned at this, but he didn't dispute Azoth's words, or act petulantly. "I see what you mean but it's easier said than done. Picking up the high quality materials you're talking about is pricey. Don't get me wrong, Lady Hephaestus is generous, but if we want the really rare things we have to get them ourselves, and to do that we need to sell our wares to make the money, make a contract with another Adventurer, or group of Adventurers. That or we have to head into the Dungeon to harvest them ourselves."

Azoth hummed at that, his brow slightly furrowed as he pondered over what Welf had just said. "So why not just make a contract with an Adventurer? There are certainly enough of them around Orario."

"Like I said, that's easier said than done. Everyone in our Familia is constantly on the lookout for good contracts, and sure like you say it's easy enough to make a contract with a Level One, or even a group of Level Ones, but those types would barely make it past the tenth floor." Welf sighed as he said this, and looked around at the floor they were on now, the tenth floor. "What you need is a strong Level Three, or maybe even a Four or a Five. If you get one of them then a contract is lucrative! If not, well it's harsh to say, but it's not even worth the effort."

"Fair enough, so I'm guessing that's why most of you lot just sell your stuff on the fourth and eighth floor of the tower?" Azoth asked. His brow furrowed as he once again found himself comparing this whole 'Familia' thing with being in a Guild.

"Yeah, most of us do. But only those that are over Level Two and have been recognised by Hephaestus can sell things on the Fourth floor, and as you might have noticed, that's where you can sell things for ridiculous prices." Welf's tone was noticeably bitter as he said this. "Up on the eighth floor though, well you're lucky if you can sell anything at all. Especially if people only buy your things because of your name, and the expectations that come with it."

This, Azoth, mused must've been what Beckendorf had mentioned before. The Crozzo magic swords and the fame attributed to them.

Honestly, a part of him was curious about them, and whether they could hold a candle to one of his enchanted swords, or maybe even his legendary blade, Dawnbreaker.

Still, glancing at the scowl on the boy's face and the way his hands had clenched into fists at his side, he could see that this whole thing was a touchy subject for him. A touchy subject that he wasn't too keen on going into right now, especially considering how little he knew of the boy.

No, Azoth decided as the silence continued on for a few more moments, he didn't want to touch that subject at all. Honestly he had never been very good at this kind of thing, tact, subtlety and sensitivity, it was not his thing.

"Damn, well I suppose we should head a little deeper into the Dungeon then. I'm yet to be satisfied by these weaklings. Plus, if I'm to start working in my new forge, and crafting a new set of armour, then I think I need to familiarise myself with some of the materials I'll probably be working with." Azoth said with a nod, clapping his hands together loudly as he did so, before he turned and started walking. Starting to collect up some of the larger magic stones that the ogre things had dropped as he did so.

"Right," Welf echoed, a hint of relief in the younger boy's voice as he sheathed his blade and joined the white haired elf in collecting up the magic stones. "The Dungeon's not exactly the best place to be chatting anyway, especially this low down."

Azoth hummed at that. "By the way what were those big ogre things I killed?"

"What?" Welf replied. A confused expression on his face. "You've never seen an orc before?"

"An orc?" Azoth started, his violet eyes widening slightly. His lips twitching upwards slightly as he did so, before a moment later he let out distinctly un-elf like snort of laughter. "That's what you call those things?"

"Yeah," Welf frowned. "Are you telling me that you, a Level Six, has never seen an orc before?"

"Oh no, I've seen orcs. Those things though, those are nothing like the beings I know as orcs. Those things are more like bigger, yet weaker, versions of trolls." Azoth smiled, shaking his head in amusement as he imagined the reaction of an Orismer to one of those 'orcs' he had just killed.

"Trolls?" Welf asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah," Azoth nodded, before he jerked his head and started walking, Welf following along after him. "Pretty nasty monsters to fight if you're new to Adventuring. But once you've gotten a bit of experience and some good gear, well, they're honestly little more than a nuisance."

Following along beside him, Welf listened in with interest as Azoth continued to tell him about trolls, including their strengths, weaknesses and appearances. His brow furrowing as he tried to remember whether he had heard of things like them before, even as the duo continued walking through the tenth floor. With Azoth occasionally unleashing a blast of lightning or whipping out his sword to deal with any monsters that were unfortunate enough to cross the Level Six's path.

Welf marvelling every time the elf did this, both at the older man's reaction times, and his senses, as more often than not he acted before Welf was even aware they were in danger, easily cutting down War Shadows, Orcs, Kolbolds and Imps with tremendous ease and speed.

It was as he was witnessing this, that Welf perhaps for the first time, truly released the stark difference in strength between a Level One and a Level Six. Sure it was easy enough to imagine the difference in theory, but when one actually witnessed a Level Six fighting for the first time, well it was pretty extraordinary.

**( - )**

**(Sometime Later)**

As the two of them reached the end of the Tenth Floor and began to walk through the surpassingly large, rocky passage that led the way to the Eleventh Floor, a floor deeper than Welf had ever been before, and a floor lower than Azoth had first suggested they would do. Welf couldn't help but ask Azoth something that had been bothering him.

"Hey Azoth," Welf began. The redheaded Smith's blue eyes narrowing slightly as he stared through the gloom at Azoth, his eyes flickering from the tall, broad shouldered elf, to the glowing blue orb that was bobbing about in front of them.

"Hmm," Azoth hummed back, his violet eyes flickering to Welf for a moment, before he went back to looking further down the gloomy tunnel.

"I've been meaning to ask about your magic. You know that 'Magelight' thing, and the lightning spell you use." Welf continued, looking forward himself now as the pathway began to get slightly steeper and a reddish glow appeared further down the tunnel, visible proof that they were nearing their destination, the Eleventh Floor.

"What about them?" Azoth replied easily. His tone as relaxed as ever, something Welf had quickly noticed was the norm with the laid back elf.

"Well it's just I've noticed that you don't need a chant for them?" Welf continued curiously

"No I don't." Azoth replied, his hand dropping down to the hilt of his sword as the pathway flattened and they neared the end of the tunnel and the beginning of the Eleventh Floor. "I have more spells than just those two though. They're not the most powerful spells mind you, there are much much stronger spells out there, but they're useful enough. That and they're low cost in terms of magicka and none of them require chants." Azoth looked sideways at the surprised Welf as he said this, before with a shrug he continued. "Think of it like an additional Skill. They are fast and quick to use, but lack the power of those spells that take longer."

"Oh, okay." Welf nodded, not sure what to say to that. Azoth was a distinctly odd and mysterious person, and a very powerful one at that. Not just due to his Level, but also because of his weapons and magic too. Welf didn't have to be an expert to notice the sheer perfection of his two weapons. Nor did it take him long to work out just how useful the skill to use chantless spells must be, even if they were, like Azoth said, not that powerful.

"Keep your guard up, we're here." Azoth shot back suddenly. The white haired elf unsheathing the first two inches of his blade as he did so, even as a ball of crackling lightning appeared in his offhand.

Seeing this Welf unsheathed his own sword, his mouth firming up into a thin line as he gripped the two handed weapon tightly in front of him.

Stepping through the entrance, the duo soon found themselves in a dark, stone walled cavern, one which was currently lit by several merrily crackling torches that were bracketed on the walls.

"Hmm, not quite what I was expecting." Azoth said dryly, his lip quirking upwards even as his Magelight dispersed into nothingness.

Noticeably Welf could see that the floor, like on Floor Ten, was covered in thick, swirling mist.

From beside him Welf remained tense, his eyes roving the area around him, just as he knew Azoth was probably doing beneath his relaxed façade.

"Ah well come on then, we'll have a look around. See what this floor is like, and then probably head back. We don't want to push it too far, eh." Azoth smiled, easily drawing his sword as he did so, even as he led the way through a nearby rocky passage. The two of them easily able to walk side by side as they did so.

"It kind of looks like the fifth floor in its make up, but with the mist from the ninth and tenth." Welf mused as he looked around in interest, his eyes flicking this way and that as the duo walked through the gradually widening passage, both of their weapons still at the ready as they kept an eye out for any danger.

"Maybe, these things all start to look the same to me after a while." Azoth replied easily, his gaze still surveying the area in front of them as the passage continued to widen. Openings noticeably beginning to appear as they headed deeper into the floor, openings that branched off in multiple different directions. Some of the openings in the rocky walls spanning several metres in diameter, whilst others were little more than a foot or so wide.

The number of openings growing with every step they took, until soon enough the two of them found themselves walking through a labyrinthine mess of tunnels and caverns, all of which were lit by luminescent fungus that grew on the walls. The light from the ensconced torches having long since disappeared as they walked deeper and deeper into the Eleventh Floor.

"It's kind of eerie that we haven't come across anything yet, don't you think?" Welf muttered to Azoth about ten minutes later, as he looked around, his white knuckled grip on his weapon as tight as ever, even as a single, solitary bead of sweat trailed down from his forehead.

"Oh they're out there." Azoth replied softly, his grip on the hilt of his sword much lighter. The slight smile on his face somewhat putting Welf at ease as the other Adventurer idly looked around, inspecting their surroundings with interest. "They're following us, and lurking in the shadows of those many tunnels, watching and waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Welf asked nervously, turning to look at one of the many gloomy tunnels that surrounded them, only for him to flinch slightly as he saw a large shadowy shape shift backwards, deeper into one of the tunnels and away from the dim blueish light that lit up the area they were in.

"For us to venture into one of the tunnels so they can ambush us, or maybe for there to be enough of them to successfully surround and kill us. That or maybe they're just curious, and working out whether or not we're worth the effort of killing." Azoth shrugged as he said that, and came to a halt, his violet eyes boring into one of the larger tunnels, watching as a large, dark shape shifted about deeper within the tunnel. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I still haven't figured out whether or not some of the monsters have intelligence and sentient thought. Or whether they are just driven by instinct and a kind of low cunning."

Before Welf could reply to Azoth's odd musings, both he and the Snow Elf were interrupted by a sudden roar from one of the side tunnels. After which a massive shadow erupted from one of the larger passages and into the main one where they were stood.

The shadow soon revealing itself to be a mass of white fur and muscle, two giant white furred arms lunging forwards, even as a set of think, glistening teeth were bared.

Almost immediately Welf reacted, giving ground as he backed off from the large Silverback, one of the more dangerous monsters that dwelled on floor Eleven and Twelve. The colossal mass of muscle would turn him into mincemeat if he allowed it to hit him. Silverbacks after all were very strong, and also pretty heavy.

As he thought this, Welf saw Azoth do the opposite of him, and lunge forward, his magical sword flying out of its sheath in a blur of golden metal, before, with just a single slash, the white haired elf carved a deep slash into the monster's chest, drawing a shower of blood from it, even as he shifted to the side and darted back, allowing the creatures heavy mass to tumble passed him.

Raising his sword as the Silverback hit the ground with an almost deafening bellow, Welf was just on the verge of rushing in to finish off the downed monster before it could get up.

Only for him to stop as, literal moments after Azoth delivered his slash and the monster hit the floor, fire erupted from its bloody wound, catching alight its thick fur as unnatural, fiery golden flames rapidly enveloped it. The fire burning with supernatural ferocity as it rapidly started to consume the fur and scorch the flesh beneath, burning the wound creature to death in mere moments, even as Azoth continued forward, not even looking back.

Welf however was still struggling to tear his gaze away from the now, blessedly quiet, and smoking corpse of the Silverback, not noticing as he did the screeches coming from nearby passages as other monsters started to flood into the main cavern they were in.

No instead his gaze was on the dead monster in front of him, his throat beginning to constrict as the stench of its burning flesh and fur filled his nose, even as the monster began to disintegrate into black dust. A single cut, and a nonfatal one at that, that was all it had taken to kill the beast.

Seeing the deadly results of that single slash, Welf couldn't help but stare. He now desperately wanted to have a look at that magic sword, Dawnbreaker, that was what Azoth had called it.

"Welf. Focus." Azoth called out, his movements swift and graceful as he practically danced through the swarm of monsters, never staying still for a moment as he moved with every slash, his blade a golden blur as he didn't waste a single movement, each one delivering fiery death to one of his foes.

"Er yeah right, sorry!" Welf called back, cursing himself for getting distracted. This was the dungeon, even a moments distraction could spell death, especially for a tiring Level One on the Eleventh Floor.

With that in mind Welf ran forwards, his large blade swinging around to cleave an Imp in two, after which he lunged to the side to avoid a heavy swing from a club wielding orc. With him responding in kind by lashing out with his sword, slashing the large monster's belly open, and then bringing it to the ground with another with slash to one of its tree trunk like legs, and then finishing it off with a thrust through its throat.

"Nice," Azoth called out to him, the elf's hair not looking as white as it had before, as blood and gore spattered his face and hair, even as a manic smile spread across his face. His blade dealing fiery death with every slash, scaring the monsters around him and stopping them from massing up, even as his other hand unleashed explosive balls of fire every few seconds.

The guy looked like a manic, with burning creatures falling to the ground all around him, whilst other monsters tried in vain to flee from him, only to be blasted to pieces by his 'weak' fire spell.

The sickeningly sweet smell of melting, charred flesh, mingling with the stench of blood and burning fur, hair and who knows what else, even as Azoth continued his destructive rampage.

The elf's actions pushing the monsters back and, Welf noticed, drawing their attention to Azoth and away from Welf. Which in turn allowed him to skirt around the sides of the melee, cutting down several confused, and scared monsters with relative ease.

This was not a battle, it was a slaughter.

**( - )**

**(Sometime Later)**

Sheathing his sword, Azoth spent a few moments surveying the decimated area around him. Sickly sweet smelling smoke lingered in the air, mixing with the silvery mist that seemed to infest the labyrinth like floor.

On the floor he could see dozens upon dozens of monster soul gems littering the floor, along with the occasional 'drop item'. The hide of orcs, the teeth of Silverbacks, armoured plates from Hard Armoureds. There were dozens of trophies from the battle lying around.

Already he could see Welf moving around collecting up the remnants of the monsters, whilst Azoth stayed on guard.

Looking around the misty area, he made sure to keep his hand on his sword. His eyes narrowed as he looked into the different passages that led into the main chamber. A large ball of mage light now floating far above his head, with him constantly maintaining it as it shone a silvery blue light all around, adding to the light from the glowing fungus on the walls.

"So what did you think of your first trip down to the Eleventh Floor?" Azoth asked idly, turning his gaze from his surroundings and instead to the redheaded Smith as he did so.

"Active." Welf replied, pausing midway through bundling up a thick, furry white hide, his blue eyes flicking over to Azoth. "There were a lot of monsters. Too many for even a group of Level Ones to handle. I mean, that fight just now. That was ridiculous!"

"They weren't that tough." Azoth shrugged, a slight laugh leaving his lips as he looked around the cavern again.

"Maybe not for you, but for those of us who aren't Level Six, they were." Welf replied dryly.

"Good point," Azoth acknowledged his lip quirking upwards. He hadn't quite gotten used to this points and level system that was used here. Back in Tamriel they didn't have these levels or statuses, and very few people ever got blessings from Divine Beings, or at least permanent blessing. It was all still pretty alien to him.

Welf smiled slightly at that and stood up straight. Before he could reply with the quip he had likely just thought up however, both his and Azoth's attention was instead drawn to the other side of the cavern, to the largest tunnel that led deeper into the Dungeon.

"Do you hear that?" Welf whispered, dropping his bag of monster soul gems and materials to the floor, as he instead reached for his sword.

"Yes," Azoth replied, his expression more relaxed as he turned to face the commotion. Though he did still draw his sword slightly, loosening it from its scabbard. "Voices, hmm, and footsteps as well. My guess is another group of Adventurers."

Raising his head Azoth sniffed the air as he said this, ignoring the foul stench of burnt monster flesh as he instead tried to use his heightened senses, courtesy of being a werewolf, to identify the newcomers. "No, I'm pretty sure that they're not monsters. For one they're talking, and for another I think there are a lot of them walking this way too, and by the sounds of it they have some wagons with them too?"

Azoth cocked an eyebrow at the last part, listening closely as he heard the voices becoming more distinct. Though the rumble of wagons and, was that the slight grumbling and growling of some kind of beasts, were still distinguishable.

In response Welf shrugged, his expression nonplussed.

Soon enough however their curiosity was answered as the golden light from a number of lanterns began to shine on the far wall, announcing the group's arrival, even as they exited the far tunnel and entered the cavern.

Frowning for a moment, a slightly bemused expression soon crossed Azoth face as he eyed the newcomers.

There must have been about thirty of them all told, all of them armed with an assortment of weapons, and wearing a whole range of different types of armour. One thing the Adventurers for that was what they surely must be going off of their garb and the fact that many of them looked human or elven, had in common though, was that they were all wearing red masks.

Not just any masks though, but masks that looked like they had been designed to look like the head of a mammoth, complete with the trunk and the tusks.

Stifling a snort of laughter, Azoth cast a sideways look at Welf.

"The Ganesha Familia." Welf said, rolling his eyes now, even as the convoy approached. The wagons they were pulling behind them in clear view now, revealing the large cages that sat on top of them, within which monsters could clearly be seen.

Some of them recognisable, like the Silverbacks and Hard Armoured. Whilst others weren't so recognisable to Azoth. Such as the giant boar like monster, and the one that stood like a man but had fur and the head of a bull.

There were likely even more caged monsters there that he didn't recognise, however many of the cages were covered up, or were bordered up with wood.

Relaxing his grip on his sword slightly, Azoth moved to stand to one side, following Welf as the larger party continued on through the cavern.

"Hey there fellow Adventurers!" One of the mammoth masked men at the front of the column shouted to the two of them. The man in question; a thin individual with a green half cloak and a simple short sword sheathed at his hip, stepping out of the convoy and approaching them as he did so. "Looks like you've all had a time of it. What did you do, fall into a monster pantry by accident?"

"More like a monster ambush." Azoth shrugged, speaking up for the two of them as his fellow Smith seemed to have gone very silent, even as the convoy continued passed them now, heading off in the direction of the upper floors.

"An ambush, ey?" The man frowned. "Well sounds like you two were lucky to come out of that alive. The monsters lower down in the Dungeon do tend to be a bit cannier than their brethren further up. You two must be pretty high level to have survived."

Azoth shrugged at that, and instead just thrust his hand forward. "The name's Azoth, Hephaestus Familia. The quiet one behind me is Welf, same Familia."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kazuma, an Executive in the Ganesha Familia." The brown haired man smiled, taking Azoth's pale hand in his own. His grip noticeably strong, and his hands very calloused.

Azoth nodded at that, his violet eyes flicking from Welf to the other Adventurer. Curiosity welling up within him, over the other Smith's sudden silence, and the fact that Kazuma also seemed to ignore the redhead.

"So I have to ask. What are you doing? You know transporting monsters up to the surface, surely that's not allowed?" Azoth asked easily, a relaxed smile on his face giving credence to his lackadaisical outward attitude. Even if inwardly he was tense and ready to spring into action.

He still didn't know enough about this place, and he wasn't about to assume that all Adventurers were decent, law abiding people. After spending his formative years growing up in the Thieves Guild in Riften and as an ex-bandit, he knew for a fact that a lot of people in the world tended to be somewhat rotten.

"True, unless you have a permit of course." Kazuma grinned, completely unperturbed by the question, his green eyes flicking over to the wagons as they rolled passed, before going back to Azoth. "The Ganesha Familia specialise in taming monsters, and so we often head down here to collect new ones. This lot though is for the upcoming Monsterphilia festival."

"Monsterphilia?" Azoth queried, his lip quirking upwards as he tested the odd sounding word out. "That sounds… odd?"

Kazuma let loose a bark of laughter at that. "Wow, you must be a newbie Adventurer. The Monsterphilia event is a once in a year thing where we, the Ganesha Familia that is, head into the Dungeon and capture some monsters, and then show them off in the colosseum, you know the one up on the surface. It's a real spectacle, and you know, it shows off our skills to the masses, advertising our wares so to speak. Hell if you're interested there are even some opportunity to try out your hand at taming, and in front of an entire crowd too."

"So it's a circus?" Azoth asked, his expression still amused.

"Of sorts," Kazuma grinned. "Anyway, time's a wasting, and I'm going to need to head off. It was nice meeting you Azoth… Welf, stay safe down here, right. Floor Eleven and below isn't for newbie Adventurers, especially not for such a small group. As you've probably realised by now, it's dangerous down here."

"Right, I'll keep that in mind." Azoth nodded, watching as the brown haired man sent the two of them one last grin and a wave before he then jogged back to the where the rest of the convoy was just leaving the large cavern.

"Arsehole." Welf muttered as Kazuma disappeared around the corner and out of sight. Once again leaving the duo alone, the redhead looking particularly pissed off now as he went back to collecting all the fallen monster drops.

"I'm guessing you know him?" Azoth asked, helping Welf out now as he too began to collect up the fallen stones.

"Yeah, he's a Level Five Adventurer with the Ganesha Familia, and a real arrogant bastard. He tried to get me to make a sword for him once, a magic one, and when I refused. Well, he got pretty nasty about it and attempted to force me too. Fortunately Tsubaki was around at the time and told him where to go, but still, he spread rumours after that, and, well… he's not a good person. Don't trust him, no matter how chummy he seems." Welf bit out, packing away the last of the stones in his bag before he stood up.

"Oh don't worry I had no intention of doing so. I've been an Adventurer for a while now, Welf, maybe not in the Dungeon or in Orario, but I've seen quite a few things, and met more than my share of scummy people." Azoth replied, patting Welf on the shoulder as he did so, before he headed off in the same direction the Ganasha Familia had gone, back to the surface.

"Are we heading back now?" Welf asked.

"Yeah, I think I've seen enough for now. Plus we picked up enough soul gems and materials for the moment." Azoth nodded. The magelight following him as he led the way back to the surface, Welf, now weighed down by a heavy bag, walking along behind him. "That and I want to check out this Monsterphilia thing."

"Hn, it's overrated." Welf grunted.

"Maybe, but I'd like to check it out all the same." Azoth shot back, the two of them quickly heading up through the Dungeon and back to the surface. It had been a pretty successful trip into the Dungeon today, all things considered.

**( - )**

**AN: And so for those who like a bit of action, this was Azoth's first foray into the Dungeon. Now though he is headed back to the surface to spend more time acclimatising, meeting his fellow Familia members and of course checking out the local events like Monsterphilia I'm sure nothing will go wrong with that…**

**That said I might also catch up with the gods and goddesses a bit, what with the banquet scene. Though whether I cover that fully and the changes Azoth's presence makes, or whether I just reference it I'm not decided on yet. There are changes, some important, but at the same time. Well I'm not decided yet, I just know it needs to be covered in some way.**

**That said I think I will start working on updating one of my other stories first, maybe the Last King, or potentially Oncoming Storm, or Atlas, or maybe even A Light in the Dark. Suffice to say I haven't decided yet, and will instead, depending on my time, choose whatever interests me the most at the time of writing.**

**Other than that thanks a lot for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. A bit of convo between Azoth and Welf, some introspection on monsters, a bit of action and a meeting with another Familia. One which tends to be glossed over and treated as a running joke in canon.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you review or that you at least enjoyed the update.**

**Catch you later.**

**Greed720.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: So it's been a while hasn't it, not too long, but longer than previous updates. Unfortunately that will probably continue to be the case for the next few months as I'm a front line medical worker at the NHS in the UK and so am naturally quite a lot busier than I usually am, and can only find so many hours in my week to write at the moment, especially with everything that's going on. **

**That said, let's see what happens in the future. For now I will continue to write in my downtime and update my stories as and when I can. All I can ask though is that you be patient, as sometimes I'm not in the mood to write, whilst others times I am.**

**Thanks a lot for understanding, if you do, and thanks for your continued to support. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter, and leave a review if you can.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls or Danmachi.**

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_"Are we heading back now?" Welf asked._

_"Yeah, I think I've seen enough for now. Plus we picked up enough soul gems and materials for the moment." Azoth nodded. The magelight following him as he led the way back to the surface, Welf, now weighed down by a heavy bag, walking along behind him. "That and I want to check out this Monsterphilia thing."_

_"Hn, it's overrated." Welf grunted._

_"Maybe, but I'd like to check it out all the same." Azoth shot back, the two of them quickly heading up through the Dungeon and back to the surface. It had been a pretty successful trip into the Dungeon today, all things considered._

**( - )**

**Chapter 10**

**( - )**

**(At the Guild Building)**

"So, a successful day in the Dungeon then…" Eina said mildly, her green eyes panning from the awkward looking Welf Crozzo to his grinning, white haired, elven companion, Azoth. The unlikely pair thankfully, or at least in her mind, attracting little in the way of attention from the average passer-by and Guild building user as they unloaded their packs of crystals, and started to deposit them on two waiting trays so that they could be exchanged for Valis.

"Hmm, yeah I'd say it was quite successful, or at least for the most part, yes," Azoth nodded, glancing up from his crystal stuffed bag as he placed the last of the small crystals he was handing over on the tray in front of him. "Welf here showed me around the Dungeon, or at least the upper levels, and we ran into a few monsters too, enough for at least a good warm up, even if they weren't all that tough to deal with."

"A good warm up, he says," Welf chipped in, rolling his eyes as he just upend his own bag of crystals into the tray, creating a small mound of haphazardly placed crystals of varying size and quality. "Yeah sure maybe if you're a Level Six…, for me though that was bloody stressful!"

Azoth sent the redhead a sideways smile in response to his comment, the taller, broader man exuding the general cockiness, and casual power, that most Adventurers of his ilk, or at least from Eina's perspective, gave off.

Picking up one of the larger crystals from Welf's tray, the size of which suggested its origin as being from one of the stronger monsters that lurked between Floors Nine and Ten, Eina's gaze went from Azoth's still bulging bag as he swung it over his shoulder, to the marginally smaller pile of crystals in his tray. "Aren't you going to cash them all in, Azoth?"

"No, I'm keeping some of the larger, choice ones for myself," Azoth grinned, settling his bag comfortably at his side as he did so, before then meeting Eina's green eyes with his violet ones. "Those monster soul gems, and some of the other 'drops' should be quite useful to experiment with. Or at least they will prove useful to play around with once I get access to a forge."

"Hmm," Eina hummed, pushing to one side the white haired elf's odd terminology and odd ideas, as she instead idly inspected the lightly armoured Adventurer. Her gaze trailing over the numerous nicks and scrapes on the silver armour he was wearing. "I've never heard of monster crystals being used in that manner before, but still, you earned them, so you can choose what you want to do with them. Though honestly I'd advise that you just cash them in, but again, the choice to do that is up to you, and not me."

"Absolutely," Azoth grinned heartily, flashing her his teeth as he saw the bemusement in her gaze. He could already guess that the half elf thought him at least a little bit odd and eccentric.

Still that didn't bother him, after all where was the fun in being normal?

He had been part of the rank and file before, just another petty thief in a large guild of thieves, and just another bandit in a moderately sized band of bandits. It wasn't fun being a non-entity, and made you little more than an expendable asset. Someone that was always looked over and dismissed.

Being normal and average was shit.

Sure it was better than being subpar, or being seen as incompetent, but not by much.

No, his life had certainly improved for the better, discounting the increased amount of danger and tribulation he had had ended up enduring during his adventures, ever since he had found out that he was Dovahkiin, Dragonborn.

Yes, people who stood out from the crowd, for better or worse, and those who put themselves out there and went on dangerous quests and adventures, they prospered. High risk, but equally high reward as they say.

Or at least that was the way he saw things. He enjoyed standing out, and enjoyed fighting and adventuring and playing around in the forge, but more than that he enjoyed the rewards, perks and adulation that came with standing out.

"Hmm, I hope you were at least being careful down there in the Dungeon." Eina pressed on, a frown on her face now as she waved away Azoth's cocky words. The elf was a Level Six adventurer, and thus was one of the most powerful people in the city, if not in the world, he was not the one she was concerned about. "Welf is only a Level One, and shouldn't be going down too deep, not even if he is with you!"

"To be fair we didn't go that deep, we turned back and headed back up to the surface after exploring the Eleventh Floor for a bit." Welf hurriedly said, a crooked smile on his face as he looked between the nonchalant Azoth, and the noticeably concerned Eina. "As Azoth said it really wasn't that dangerous!"

"If you say so," Eina muttered, sending the two of them another sharp, reprimanding look.

Her eyes resting on Azoth for a moment or so longer, as if reprimanding the 'newbie' Level Six Adventurer for being irresponsible on his first run into the Dungeon, and taking the experienced Level One Adventurer too deep.

Honestly, Azoth mused to himself as he smiled back cheekily at Eina, the other elf, probably like his own Familia and goddess, must be struggling to quantify him as a new adventurer, when he was clearly anything but, even if today was his first dive into the Dungeon.

"Here are your Valis, at the standard exchange rate." One of Eina's fellow Guild workers said as they brought over both Welf and Azoth's tray, within which Azoth could now see a small pile of coins, Valis, the local currency, waiting for them.

"Thank you," EIna said primly, sending her associate a quick smile before she pushed the two trays across the desk, and over to the two of them, after which she gestured for them to take their rewards.

Sweeping the multitude of different sized coins into his coin pouch, Azoth sent Eina one more quick smile. "So Eina, what do you have on for the rest of the day?"

"Work," Eina replied promptly, looking over her glasses at him. "I have to wait for one of my other Adventurers to come back from the Dungeon." Eina paused after saying this, and then let out a sigh. "And this Adventurers is one of my most frustrating ones."

"Aw, I thought I had that positon!" Azoth laughed.

"Oh you're irritating too, but you at least are a Level Six, I would at least think that you can look after yourself regardless of what trouble you find yourself in. My other Adventurer though, he's only a Level One, and seems to attract trouble like nothing else, and a lot of it!" Eina sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose, and not even blinking at her blunt assessment of Azoth.

In response Azoth smiled, the half elf had clearly gotten the measure of him already, and consequently knew that he didn't particularly care for formality, nor was he that easily offended.

"Oh my, I don't think that I've ever been so offended before!" Azoth grinned, leaning against the counter now, and ignoring the blatant sigh of frustration from behind him, and the way the redhead smith started to impatiently drum his fingers on the counter in boredom.

Eina raised a single eyebrow at his comment, and then gave him an unimpressed look. "Then you need to get out more!"

Chuckling at her quick comeback, Azoth prepared to continue their banter, mainly because Eina was quite pleasant to converse with, though admittedly, a part of him was deriving a slight amount of satisfaction from Welf's rude, and obvious displays of irritation and impatience.

Honestly, a part of him wanted to see how far the redhead's patience could be pushed, as Welf he noticed, despite being quite affable and friendly, was still keeping him at a deliberate distance. Admittedly that was most likely because they had only known each other for two days, and he had thus not been able to worm his way passed the younger man's walls yet.

Unfortunately, before he was able to continue his bantering, he was distracted by a familiar, white haired figure bursting into the Guild and running over to their position, his entrance attracting a lot of attention as other Adventurers and members of staff looked away from what they were doing and instead over at the haggard, battered looking teen as he sprinting over to where Azoth, Welf and Eina were currently stood.

Frowning at the sight of the familiar white haired, red eyed kid, Azoth pushed away from the counter, his mind already whirling as he tried to remember the kids name. He was the kid from the tavern, the only one in Hestia's Familia. "Bell Cranel?"

"Huh, oh Mr Azoth!" Bell said, the white haired teen almost falling over at the sight of him. Apparently he had been so focused on Eina that he hadn't even noticed the white haired elf currently talking with her.

"Just Azoth," Azoth said mildly, before he sent a wry smile to the exasperated Eina. "So this is your other Adventurer?"

"Yes," Eina sighed fondly as she looked down at the younger kid, before she rolled her eyes. "And it seems you're already acquainted."

"Briefly," Azoth said, waving his hand nonchalantly. "Still, I think I'll leave you two to it then. Thanks a lot for the help though, Eina."

"You're welcome, and remember, if you're taking Welf with you don't go too deep into the Dungeons, have at least some thought for your fellow Adventurers down there!" Eina called after him, as he and Welf both gave their thanks for her help and started to head off.

"I will!" Azoth called back, sending the other elf a slight wave as he did so, before he headed for the doors, leaving Eina to do her job and deal with the overly excited looking kid. "Now Welf, do you reckon you could show me to my forge when we get back?"

"Yeah sure no problem, Lady Hephaestus already told me which one you would be assigned, it's one of the sheltered ones in the back courtyard, the one next to mine…" Welf shrugged, his pouch of coins jingling at his hip as he and Azoth exited the Guild building and started heading for home.

"Sounds good," Azoth smiled, his fingers twitching. It had been a while since he had felt the weight of a hammer in his hands, and the heat of a hot forge against his flesh.

**( - )**

**(Back at Forgefire Manor)**

"So I see Welf showed you to your forge," Hephaestus said mildly as she stepped into the outbuilding, the redhead's voice catching Azoth's attention as he looked up from his glowing forge and instead over to the goddess, a sheen of sweat covering his pale skin, and causing the firelight to glimmer across his body as he gently placed a small hammer on an anvil, and shoved the glowing length of metal he had been working on back into the bright hot coals of his forge.

"Aye," Azoth nodded, glancing around at the small, but well equipped, outbuilding. His eyes roving over the tiled roof overhead, and the rough stone walls either side of him, along which were several racks of hammers, pincers, and other forging equipment, along with boxes of charcoal, wood, coal and basic types of ore. "We got back from the Guild Building around an hour or so ago, and then he showed me this place. It's not a bad setup at all."

"I'm glad," Hephaestus smiled, pushing off of the wall now and entering the building properly as she looked around at the formerly neat and unused forge. Her single red eye trailing over the small mound of monster crystals she could see on a nearby worktable, and the bag full of what looked like monster drops that was next to the mound of crystals. "You seemed to have made yourself at home."

"It's getting there," Azoth nodded, looking around the smithy too, and it was. That said, he did still need to build himself an Arcane Enchanting station sooner or later, otherwise he would run into some issues when it came to forging himself a new, stronger, better set of armour.

"Hmm," Hephaestus hummed, walking along the nearly empty weapons rack on one side of the smithy, her fingers absentmindedly trailing over Wuuthrad's intricately shaped axe head as she did so, before then moving over to the ornate hilt of Dawnbreaker, only for her to let out a slight hiss and withdraw her hand immediately the moment her finger brush against Meridia's sacred blade.

Waving her stinging fingers in the air, to try and get rid of the burning sensation, Hephaestus sent Azoth a curious look.

"Yeah, Dawnbreaker doesn't tend to like being touched by other people." Azoth said mildly, leaning against the anvil in front of him as he gave the redhead an amused look.

"The sword's sentient?" Hephaestus asked, eyeing the glowing jewel in the hilt of the sword as she did so.

"No, or at least not in the sense you're most likely thinking. The sword has merely been instilled with its maker's desires, and has, over the centuries, gained a bit of a personality. Semi-sentient is what I would call it." Azoth said shrugging. The blade was at its fiercest and most angry when used against undead, and those that it considered to be of that ilk. That said it was liable to snap at the living too if they had dealt in necromantic magic, or if it just didn't like them, and thus didn't want them touching it.

"The same could be said of Wuuthrad, the axe beside you too." He continued, his eyes trailing over to the ominous looking axe, complete with the screaming face that dominated its head.

The axe, according to legend, had been forged by Yngol, the son of Ysgramor, from the ebony tears of rage, sorrow and fury that the ancient Nord hero had shed after the fall of the ancient Nord city of Saarthal, and the massacre of its populace at the hands of the Snow Elves, Azoth's people, in a night known as the Night of Tears. As such the ancient, semi-sentient axe, yearned for elven blood, and was at its most powerful and deadly when used against the fairer races.

Suffice to say, Azoth found it quite amusing and ironic that its current wielder was him, a Snow Elf, most likely the last Snow Elf alive for that matter, or at least as far as he knew.

For all intents and purposes the axe should be thirsting for his blood above all others, but instead it aided him.

Whether this loyalty and acceptance was due to him being the one to find its scattered pieces and re-forge it in the Skyforge at Whiterun, thus imparting aspects of himself and his magic into the ancient blade. Or whether it was due to it grudgingly recognising him as the Harbringer of the Companions, the very group that its former master had founded, he wasn't sure.

Not that is really mattered. No, all that did was that it accepted him as its master, and didn't thirst for his blood like it did for every other elf it came into contact with.

"I see," Hephaestus frowned, eyeing the sword and axe cautiously now as she did so. "I take it this has something to do with the method in which you forge and enchant weapons?"

"To some extent, though from I've seen and experienced, this semi-sentience is just as much to do with the age of the weapon, as it is with the nature of its construction." Azoth shrugged, turning back to his forge now and pulling the glowing bar of metal out of it with a set of pincers.

"The age, how long do these weapons of yours last?!" Hephaestus asked mildly, leaning back against the wall, a safe distance from the enchanted axe and sword now, as she instead watched Azoth go back to pounding and working the glowing bar of metal.

"I'm not sure, though I'd say probably indefinitely, so long as you look after and maintain them of course, that and you keep them well charged," Azoth shrugged, lifting the bar of metal up now as he checked its straightness. He would soon need to quench it and treat the metal.

"Impressive," Hephaestus muttered, a hint of admiration in her tone now. That level of smithing, although not unheard of, was still remarkable in a mortal. After all she knew that she herself was capable of making such a blade if she used her Arcanum, but still, for a mortal to be able to do it, even if the weapons in question required, 're-charging', was still impressive.

"Thanks, but smithing, like with anything is an ever evolving craft. Eventually I want to progress beyond my current level, and forge weapons on a par with both Dawnbreaker and Wuuthrad." Azoth continued to talk, looking over at the two ancient weapons now, before his attention went back to his blade as he quenched it in oil.

"An admirable goal," Hephaestus nodded.

"But not my only one, nor my most pressing one." Azoth shot back, raising the steaming blade to eyelevel now as he looked down its length and made sure it was still straight.

"Ah yes, the One Eyed Black Dragon," Hephaestus said mildly, her gaze still on the elven smith. From what she could see, he was making a rapier of some sort, a thin, long blade, the kind that was meant more for thrusting and stabbing, than for slashing and hacking. "With that in mind I thought you were planning on forging armour, not a new sword?"

"Oh I am," Azoth said, a slight grin on his face now as he headed for the grindstone, content now in the strength and straightness of the blade. "But it's been a few weeks since I last properly used a forge, and I need some practice. That and I don't have any strong enough material yet, the monsters on Floors One through Eleven were weak, and the bits and pieces I managed to harvest are, well they aren't terrible, but they are nowhere near as high quality as I need."

"That understandable enough," Hephaestus nodded. She could understand his reasoning. "Once you get to the lower levels I am sure you will find things more to your liking and specifications. In fact, I believe that the Loki Familia is diving into the Dungeon again very soon, and are heading for the very bottom, as low as any Adventurer has ever gone before. I have no doubt that they'll soon be contacting me, requesting for some of my Familia members to head down there with them as supporters."

"I take it you'll accept their request when it comes?" Azoth asked, looking up at Hephaestus now as he did so.

"I usually do, yes. The organisation of who is going down there, the fiftieth floor and perhaps lower will be up to Tsubaki though. So if you're interested, tell her and I'm sure she'll keep you in mind when coming up with the list of who will be heading down there." Hephaestus shrugged, pushing off of the wall now.

"Thanks, I'll make sure to do just that." Azoth nodded. A shortcut down to the lower floors would be greatly appreciated.

"Good," Hephaestus nodded. "Anyway I'll be heading of now, I just wanted to make sure you had settled in well. Though don't stay in here too long, like some of my children do, I believe that dinner will be ready soon back at the manor's great hall."

Azoth grinned at this news, his stomach letting out a pleased growl at the thought of food.

"Though I'm afraid I won't be joining you tonight," Hephaestus pressed on, a slight smile on her face now as she saw his grin, and heard his grumbling stomach.

"Oh, where are you off to then, anywhere nice? Or rather, with anyone nice?" Azoth smirked, his violet eyes twinkling as he saw the faintest of pink hues on Hephaestus's flawless face at his insinuation, before she quickly gathered her composure.

"I'm going to the Ganesha Familia's home, to the Banquet of the Gods." Hephaestus shot back, "No more than that, and certainly nothing as untoward as what you're implying!"

Again Azoth couldn't help but grin. "I don't know what you mean, I didn't imply anything of the sort!"

It was perhaps, Azoth mused, a difference in their respective cultures. Skyrim was a harsh place, people died easily, and so in turn lived freely. If you saw someone you took a fancy to you told them, and if they reciprocated your feelings then the two of you would pair up until one or other of you were bored or dead.

Courting in Skyrim was a simple, blunt thing, and as a resident of Skyrim all of his life, the culture had rubbed off on him.

Suffice to say it appeared the culture here, in Orario, was very different.

"Hmm," Hephaestus hummed, a slight smile on her face now, as she shook her head in amusement. "I like you, Azoth, you're an odd one, but you certainly have some character to you. That said do try to remember, I am a goddess, your new goddess. A bit of propriety wouldn't got a miss."

"I'll keep that in mind," Azoth shot back, a smile still on his face as he saw the red-haired goddess give him one more part amused, part curious look, before she said her goodbyes and then left.

The Divine Beings of this world were certainly a lot different to the ones of his old one.

If he had said such a thing, or made such an implication to Meridia or Nocturnal, or any of the other Daedra for that matter, then they would likely have had his guts for garters, and would have had him shitting out his own heart before he could even take the words back.

Honestly, he preferred things here, at least here the gods and goddess seemed to have a sense of humour.

**( - )**

**(With Hephaestus) **

Walking purposefully through the doorway of the Ganesha Familia's compound, Hephaestus, who was currently wearing an expensive dress that was as red as her crimson hair, had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

She had known the god, Ganesha, for a long time, centuries in fact. But still, despite the length of their acquaintance she had never really come to terms with just how over the top and eccentric the other god was. What with his proclivity for walking around with an elephant mask on, and his fashion choice being practically Amazonian in terms of its skimpiness.

But still, despite these other oddities, the fact that he had not only had a massive statue in his likeness built at the front of his Familia home, but had positioned the entrance to his Familia home between the legs of said statue, was a step too far.

It was nearing Apollo like levels of ego and narcissism.

Glancing sideways at two of Ganesha's elephant masked Familia members, she gave the pair of them a nod of thanks as they opened the next set of doors for her and welcomed her into the palatial building that Ganesha called home. The wealth of his vast, hardworking Familia clear to see as she looked around at the opulent party he was throwing.

Her single red eye taking in the hundreds of brightly, and in some cases gaudily, dressed gods and goddess that filled the room. Some of them wearing dresses and suits just as, if not more, expensive than her own. Whilst others, those from smaller or poorer Familia's, wore plainer, but still bright and showy, outfits.

The Banquet of the Gods, for all of the pomp attached to the name, the event was simply a big party, and a chance for the gods and goddesses within the city, and outside of it for that matter, to interact on neutral ground, and in a mostly amicable manner.

Though more often than not the event, as the night progressed, turned into a rowdy mess as the different gods and goddesses got drunker and drunker, and attempted to show off what they had, and what their children had done.

All of them competing against one another, and trying to one up one another, as they jockeyed for positon in the city's' vast, and complex hierarchy. A hierarchy in which her Familia thankfully was high up in, even if it was not on the level of the largest and most powerful Familia's, like Freya and Loki's.

Taking a glass of ruby wine from a nearby tray bearing member of the Ganesha Familia, Hephaestus started to make her way through the thronging crowds of gods and goddesses, occasionally nodding or returning a greeting here and there as she looked for someone that she might want to speak too.

Idling through the room, still smiling vaguely and nodding at gods and goddess that called out to her, some of whom she didn't even recognise, Hephaestus slowly began to make her way up a grandiose staircase. Only for her to stop when she found her attention being drawn elsewhere. The sound of muttering gods, and the content of their words reaching her as she turned to look over at the source of the commotion.

"Well look who it is."

"I'm surprised she's even down here, I would have thought that that disaster of a goddess would have gone back to the Heavens by now."

"Yeah I know, I mean I saw her working part-time at a food stand just a few days ago! I mean, how low can you go?"

"Urgh, she might as well have just brought a bucket."

"You know, I always did think she was pretty hot. Not Freya or Ishtar hot, but still, hot none the less."

Tuning out the meaningless drivel from the bitchy, insipid, low ranking gods and goddess that were snidely talking behind their hands, Hephaestus instead smiled slightly and started to walk over to the object of their discussion. A short, extremely busty goddess with bright blue eyes, and long dark hair, a goddess that was currently gorging herself at the buffet table and handily ignoring the catty comments from some of the surrounding gods and goddess.

It was Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth, and her good friend.

"Stuffing your face at the buffet table, I should have expected as much." Hephaestus said as she approached the considerably smaller, yet still exceptionally well endowed goddess. The warmth in her tone, and smile on her face taking away all the bite her words might have had as she saw Hestia freeze up, and then turn to look at her. Her cheeks noticeably bulging with food, giving the naturally beautiful goddess the look of a hamster, something which made Hephaestus bring her hand up to her mouth in order to stifle a snort of laughter.

"It's been a while, Hestia. I'm glad to see you're doing well." Hephaestus continued, ignoring the muttering of the other gossiping gods and goddess around them. Their critical comments rapidly fading to nothing as they saw that she was present, and was a friend of Hestia's.

"Hephaestus!" Hestia immediately shouted, thankfully upon swallowing her mouthful of food. The smaller goddess practically vibrating with joy at the sight of her. "I'd knew you'd be here! So, I made the right choice coming here!"

Hephaestus cocked an eyebrow at that. "You wanted to see me, huh? Well, let me make it clear to you now; I won't be lending you a single Valis."

"H-How rude of you!" Hestia exclaimed, her face flushing pink and her cheeks puffing up. "What kind of goddess do you think I am!?"

"You've been leeching off of me ever since you came to Orario, so..." Hephaestus replied mildly, waving her hand nonchalantly in the air, even as she saw Hestia's outrage disappear in a second, to be replaced by an abashed look of embarrassment.

"T-That's a thing of the past! I'm no longer willing to mooch off of my friend's purse!" Hestia proclaimed loudly, thrusting her chest out proudly as she did so, much to the audible pleasure of several of the more lecherous, nearby gods.

"But it seems like you're more than happy to mooch off of Ganesha's buffet table." Hephaestus pointed out, hiding a smile now as she saw Hestia flinch. Her lips quirking upwards at the warm-hearted, but admittedly eccentric and over the top, though not to Ganesha's level, goddess. Not mentioning as she did so, how she was currently letting Hestia stay rent free in a partially, dilapidated church that she owned on the outskirts of the city.

"No, this is... I'm just keeping these as leftovers!" Hestia said, a shifty smile on her face as she obviously tried to find a way to save face.

Not that she really needed to, the two of them had known each other for thousands of years in the Heavens, and their friendship had continued to be just as strong, even if she did like teasing the shorter goddess, when they descended to live among the mortals.

"Well, I see you two still get along very well with one another." A voice suddenly said from behind her, cutting Hephaestus off before she could reply herself. The voice catching both Hephaestus and Hestia's attention, as they turned to look at the speaker.

At once Hephaestus's single crimson eye locked with a pair of bright, shining silver ones.

The goddess in front of her was beautiful, even for a goddess, so much so that her porcelain skin, and silver hair all seemed to glow with an inner light, and the slight smile on her inhumanely beautiful face was enough to make nearby gods and goddesses weak at the knees.

Not Hephaestus though, nor Hestia either, as they both instead turned to face the newcomer, both of them standing side by side as she the goddess in front of them smiled coyly at them and continue to approach, her every movement lithe and sensual as she practically prowled towards them, like an apex predator hunting their prey.

Truly Freya, the Goddess of Beauty, was a dangerous being.

Just the sight of the inhumanely beautiful woman, her unnatural splendour emphasised as it was by the 'tight in all the right places' dress she was wearing, was enough to make her, a powerful goddess in her own right, feel inadequate in comparison.

"Freya..." Hestia spoke first. Her voice lower than normal, and her tone more serious than it had been previously when Hephaestus had been bantering with her. "Why are you here…?"

"Hmm, oh well I just saw the two of you standing here and thought I would come over and say hello. Why, am I a bother, Hestia?" Freya asked a slight smile on her face as she took a sip from the goblet of wine in her hand.

"Not really, but I'm uncomfortable with you around." Hestia bluntly said.

Hephaestus had to withhold a sigh at this, the fact she was so upfront was one of the best things about Hestia, unfortunately though it could also be one of the most problematic.

"Oh, my," Freya laughed, a delighted light entering her eyes as she flashed Hestia and Hephaestus a smile. The sight of which making her even more tense. "You're always so honest. It's what I like about you, Hestia."

Continuing to smile as she said this, Freya's violet eyes shifted over to Hephaestus. "And Hephaestus, how have things been? Truly it is a rarity to see you at a party, normally you hardly ever seen to tear yourself away from that forge of yours!"

"Yes well, I do socialise on occasion." Hephaestus replied lightly, taking a sip of her own wine here as she felt Freya's curious gaze studying her, like a cat would a particularly delectable bird.

The Goddess of Beauty was up to something, or at least more than she normally was, she didn't normally search people out like this.

Unfortunately before either one of the three could speak again however, all three of them were distracted by another, loud, and very familiar voice calling out to them. "Hey! It's Freyaaa!"

Looking up at the source of the voice, Hephaestus had to withhold a slight smile as she saw a thin, red-haired goddess practically running down the palatial hall's grand staircase, moving as fast as her very expensive looking dress would allow.

"Oh and it's Hephaestus too, and little Itty Bitty!" The voice continued as Loki, the Goddess of Mischief, descended upon them, the hyperactive goddess practically vibrating with excitement as she joined their group, other gods and goddess moving swiftly out of the charging redhead's way.

"Oh no, not her..." Hestia sighed, her comment getting a smile from both Hephaestus and Freya. "Anybody but her…"

"What was that Itty Bitty!" Loki asked as she barged her way into the conversation with all the grace of an elephant.

"Loki," Hestia said stiffly, reluctantly turning to face the other goddess as she did so. "What brings you here?"

"What? What do you mean pipsqueak, do I really need a reason to be here?" Loki replied, a sly smile on her face as she ran her eyes up and down Hestia's small, compact form.

Seeing this, Hephaestus had to withhold a sigh, even as the two goddess started to bicker like children, both of them throwing petty insults at one another, and mildly tussling, even as the other gods began to gather round and cheer them on.

The two of them got like this every time they met.

Sending a sideways glance at Freya, Hephaestus was un surprised to see the amusement on the other goddess' face.

It was typical of Freya to enjoy something like this, as if reading her mind, Freya chose that moment to raise her hand to her mouth, stifling a smile, even as she spoke. "You two really do get along well."

"Like hell we do!" Both Hestia and Loki shouted at the same time, turning away from each other and instead both looking over at the silver haired goddess.

Freya however merely smiled in response, before speaking again, noticeably steering the conversation away from the two of them arguing with one another, and instead to their Familia's. "So Loki, I hear about your Familia all the time. Things must be going well?"

Loki in response seemed puff her chest out slightly, a suddenly cocky smile on her face now. "To hear someone with a Familia as good as yours say that… I must be moving up in the world. But yeah, my children are my pride and joy, all of them a pretty damned tough!"

"Yes so I've heard," Freya smiled, talking over Hestia, even as the smaller goddess looked like she was about to speak up. "Though you're not the only one with strong Familia members, or at least from what a little birdie told me…" Freya continued, her silver eyes flicking over to Hephaestus now.

"Oh yeah, Aiz and some my other children mentioned him." Loki nodded, her eyes, which most of the time were squinted, opening slightly more as she suddenly eyed Hephaestus curiously. "That white haired elf, the Level Six one that kicked Bete's arse, Azoth wasn't it?"

A flash of sudden pride filled Hephaestus heart as she heard the praise both Loki and Freya were heaping on her newest member. "Yes Azoth, he only just joined me, but he is pretty strong, and a very skilled Smith too!"

"Oh yeah, I remember him. Big guy, really big for an elf, with the white hair and violet eyes." Hestia chipped in unexpectedly, before she began to pout adorably as she continued speaking. "I met him when he first got to the city, I tried to recruit him to, but he wasn't interested."

"Ha, and why would he join a non-existent Familia like yours?!" Loki cackled, her voice once again sparking Hestia off as the two of them began to argue again. With Hestia loudly proclaiming that she had a Familia member now, Bell Cranel, only for Loki to continue antagonising her.

Rolling her eyes at this, Hephaestus looked away from the bickering duo, only to find herself once again locking eyes with Freya. Only for her to see, in that single moment, a sudden look of hunger in Freya's silver eyes.

"So this Azoth of yours…" Freya practically purred, the tone of her voice raising the red-haired Smith's hackles.

"Yes, mine, remember that Freya." Hephaestus shot back, her tone a slight bit sharper than before and her eye flashing with warning.

She knew Freya's reputation, in fact everyone knew her reputation. The goddess was infamous after all for collecting the souls of those she found interesting, and bringing them into her Familia, even if it meant seducing and manipulating them to leave their old Familia's and join hers.

Not that anyone was bold enough to call her on it, or at least no publically. Freya's Familia was the largest in Orario and probably the strongest too.

"Oh don't worry so much Hephaestus, I'm just curious is all. It's not often that such a strong person wanders in from outside of Orario, in fact as far as I know there were only two Level Sixes out there beyond the walls of Orario, those two Captains in Kali's Familia. What were their names again, Argana and Bache?" Freya smiled, her eyes twinkling as she took another sip of wine.

"Yes, he is a bit of a rarity, but he is a good Smith, a decent warrior, and from what I have seen a good person too." Hephaestus said slowly, her eye still boring into Freya's silver ones. "He's also a very content member of my Familia."

"Say no more, say no more, I was merely asking…" Freya said, waving her hand nonchalantly, a smile still on her face.

"Hmm," Hephaestus grunted, still a bit stiff as she continued to watch the smiling goddess warily for a moment, before looking back at where Loki and Hestia were still arguing, only now it had devolved from Hestia showing off her Familia member and deriding the crown jewel of Loki's Familia, Aiz Wallenstein, to the two of them comparing boob size. A competition that the relatively flat chested Loki was sure to lose.

Seeing this, Hephaestus couldn't help but sigh. Sometimes she found it difficult to process the fact that there two were immortal goddess, especially when they showed less maturity than even her most immature Familia member.

**( - )**

**AN: So there we go, hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I had been hoping to get to the Monsterphilia festival but that will have to wait until next time. Still the story is now heading in a specific direction, one which will see Azoth dipping in and out of the Sword Oratoria story line, and the main story line, with a few original arcs here and there, scattered in amongst him getting to know his new Familia, settling into his new home, and beginning his pursuit of his goals. **

**Suffice to say there is still a lot of ground I want to cover with this story, so I hope you keep reading and supporting, and do review if you have the chance. **

**Hope you all stay safe out there, and I'll see you later.**

**Greed720.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: So it has been quite a while hasn't it. Sorry about that, I've just been quite busy with everything that's been going on. That and I was distracted by the many other stories I've committed myself to writing and updating. **

**Still, I got it out eventually, even if it is later than I intended and am slowly getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully soon I'll start to update more regularly. **

**Not much else to say other than that, so I hope you enjoy the chapter and leave a review. Thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or the Elder Scrolls. **

**( - )**

**(Last Time)**

_"Say no more, say no more, I was merely asking…" Freya said, waving her hand nonchalantly, a smile still on her face._

_"Hmm," Hephaestus grunted, still a bit stiff as she continued to watch the smiling goddess warily for a moment, before looking back at where Loki and Hestia were still arguing, only now it had devolved from Hestia showing off her Familia member and deriding the crown jewel of Loki's Familia, Aiz Wallenstein, to the two of them comparing boob size. A competition that the relatively flat chested Loki was sure to lose._

_Seeing this, Hephaestus couldn't help but sigh. Sometimes she found it difficult to process the fact that there two were immortal goddess, especially when they showed less maturity than even her most immature Familia member._

**( - )**

**Chapter 11**

**( - )**

**(In Azoth's forge)**

"I thought I'd find you in here." Tsubaki Collbrande spoke up, a sly smile on her face as she nonchalantly leant against the doorframe to his forge.

Azoth just grunted in response, his gaze not straying from the dull silver blade in his hand as he gently placed it against the spinning grindstone he was sat in front of, sparks spraying off of the blade as it made contact.

"So is that the first piece you've made in this forge?" Tsubaki tried again, her one visible eye narrowing as she took in the shape and width of the sword, as well as the delicate swirling patterns, like smoke, that ran up and down its length.

The sword was perfectly straight, and maybe three feet in length. Currently though it had neither a pommel, a crossguard nor handle, but those were just extra additions. For the most part the blade looked finished, or at least fully forged. All that seemed to be left to do was sharpen the blade and then polish it up a bit.

"Yes," Azoth finally replied, moving the sword away from the grindstone now as he instead brought it up to eye level and looked down the edge.

The edge looked fine, but not too fine. Enough that it would cut, but not so fine that it would quickly pick up damage. To her own discerning eye, it looked like a good, if simple, sword.

"It's a simple blade," Azoth continued putting words to her thoughts, a slight frown on his face as he tested along the edge with his thumb. "But a solid one all the same."

"So not one of your enchanted blades then?" Tsubaki asked curiously, her gaze flicking to the nearby weapons rack as she spoke, taking note of the sword and great axe that were hung up there before she looked back to the tall elf. She had heard of his weapons from Hephaestus. Apparently they were impressive, and if the goddess of smithing said that, then that truly meant something.

"Not yet," Azoth replied, gently placing the blade down on a folded up piece of cloth as he did so. His attention instead moving to a simply crafted crossguard and pommel that lay nearby, and the two sanded down pieces of wood and two metal pins that sat next to them. "If the sword passes muster I might give it a simple enchantment. Maybe a Frost Enchantment, to help slow down enemies. I've honestly not decided."

"You want to imbue the sword with magic after you've already made it?" Tsubaki asked, her eye widening slightly in interest. She knew how to make magic swords herself, but the ones she made required magic to be used during the forging, not after.

In response Azoth's eyes narrowed and his posture stiffening as he turned to face her.

The sight of this almost made Tsubaki smile. Blacksmiths, like many artificers and artisans, jealously guarded their craft. Or at least they guarded the techniques behind their craft. After all if anyone could replicate them, then it would devalue their work and thus make all the hard work and experimentation they had put into creating their own unique style and techniques, worthless.

It didn't even matter that they were in the same Familia. None of them gave up their hard won, and hard earned, secrets easily or freely.

Not her, not Leo, not Welf, not Agil, not even Hephaestus herself.

The Familia was built around black smithing and crafting, and self-improvement and innovation. Bartering secrets and new ideas was ok, whether it be for materials or in exchange for something else, it happened all the time. But just giving them away freely, even to each other. That was not the done thing, not here.

Not even Hephaestus was exempt. Whenever she desired to learn one of her children's techniques, or use one of their designs, she struck a bargain with them first.

"I do," Azoth finally spoke, interrupting Tsubaki's thoughts as he did so. His expression smoothing out, as a slight smile instead played across his face. "I use a specially designed runic table to imbue enchantments into my equipment."

"Oh, and where is this table?" Tsubaki asked, her smile widening and her curiosity piquing. Maybe Azoth wasn't as secretive as the rest of their Familia. She wouldn't pry too much, after all she didn't want to take advantage. But she wouldn't say no to learning a bit more basic information if she could.

"Not built it yet," He replied shortly, barely looking up from his sword as he continued to inspect it in minute detail, even as he gestured vaguely to one of the corners in his forge.

Glancing in the direction he gestured, Tsubaki quickly spotted a plain wooden table with a plate of metal on top, and a number of other things scattered across it; including candles, a skull of some kind and several other pieces of metal. None of it was assembled, instead it was all lazily piled up on the table.

"Once I have a bit of time, I'll engrave the runes on the plate and set start to it up." Azoth continued, standing up now as he instead went over to where he had set aside the cross guard, pommel and handle. "It's not difficult to setup, not if you know how. The difficult part is getting the resources you need to properly use it."

"And what resources are those?" She asked curiously.

"Now that is a secret." Azoth smiled, fitting the cross guard onto the sword as he did so. "I'll be happy to tell you my process though, if you share with me how you build your adamantine weapons?"

"You don't know how to work adamantine?" Tsubaki asked in surprise. The metal was finicky to work with at the best of time, and required a true master smith to truly get the best out of it. There were not many Smiths out there that were skilled enough and knowledgeable enough to construct and maintain adamantine weapons and armour. And those that did know how, often jealously guarded their secrets.

"No, which is why I'm asking…" Azoth chuckled, setting the sword down now as he instead picked up a hammer and some pins and began to fit and attach the pieces of carved wood to the hilt.

Tsubaki rolled her eyes at the nonchalant response. "I take it that you're thinking of crafting your new armour out of it?"

"Yes, that or I'll use dragon bones." Azoth nodded, checking the grip of his new sword now. His long pale, dexterous fingers wrapping around the hilt, and then moving to check that the panels of wood were aligned and well fitted, after which he grabbed a nearby strip of leather and began to skilfully wrap it around the hilt in a plaited weave.

"Dragon bone?" Tsubaki asked, her eyes widening at the mention of the unusual material. "I can't say I've ever seen a suit of armour made wholly from bone before, wouldn't it be too brittle?"

"No, if the bone is properly treated it is fine, especially if it is strong, and resilient like dragon bone. As for working it, well there is a technique to that too. Besides I'll be using some metal work to fit it together, and reinforce the joints." Azoth smiled again.

It was a nice smile, Tsubaki mused, even as she ignored the previous comment and focused back on the matter at hand. It was difficult though, the promise of new smithing techniques was a difficult lure to resist. "Either way I think you are overestimating yourself if you think you can make an armour entirely out of adamantine or dragon bone. Adamantine ore is rare, especially since all the veins on the first thirty or so floors of the Dungeon have been completely depleted. To get the amount you want you'd need to Dungeon dive to the lowest levels, a lot, and for long periods of time. Which as you might imagine, is pretty dangerous and time consuming!"

"No risk, no reward." Azoth replied simply, moving to fit the pommel on his sword now.

"You might be a Level Six, kid. But in the Dungeon that doesn't matter, even Level Sixes will eventually get cut down and butchered if they head down too far and for too long, especially if they're alone." Tsubaki rolled her eyes. Azoth might be an elf, but she could tell from the way he spoke, his attitude and general demeanour, that he was not particularly old, probably only twenty or so. As such he still likely suffering from the reckless and arrogant folly of youth.

"Then I best not go down by myself." Azoth smiled again, taking up his hammer again. The sound of metal striking metal sounding out as he hammered the pommel into the hilt. "Besides, I'm in no rush. I'll probably build a temporary set of armour first, maybe try out some new techniques, if I pick any good ones up, and well, I'll have fun with it."

"Hmm," Tsubaki hummed, before she let out a sigh. "Well if that's what you want. But, a suggestion, if you are looking to build some cheap, but good quality armour, and want to use dragon bone to do so, I would suggested hunting down some of the Infant Dragons on the middle floors. They're not too tough, and although their bones are smaller, and nowhere near as dense as the dragons on the deeper floors."

"Thanks," Azoth nodded, standing up as he did so, the sword now gripped in his hand as he took a few practice swings with it.

"How is it?" Tsubaki asked curiously. His form was not bad, but it was not perfect either. She had seen better swordsmen.

"Well balanced, and light." Azoth said. "Not my best work, but good enough."

With that said, he turned and offered the sword to her.

Taking it from him, she straight away understood what he meant by light. It was still much heavier than a dagger, but despite that it was much lighter than a sword its size and thickness should be. It was probably a third as light as it should be, heavy enough that swings with it still had power behind them, but light enough that it could be moved swiftly and rapidly through the air.

Taking a few practice swings, a smile made its way across Tsubaki's face. It was a good sword, and if felt well balanced too.

Laying the flat of the sword across her finger, she checked to make sure. "Not perfect after all. You're blade is half a gram to heavy on one side."

"Only if you're feeling picky." Azoth rolled his eyes, taking his sword back from her as he did so.

"But otherwise, it is a beautiful piece. If you get Lady Hephaestus's approval you could probably sell it for half million vallis, as it is now. Add on a suitably strong enchantment, and you're looking at a couple of million. Not bad for a day or so of work, ey!" She laughed, clapping him on the shoulder as she did so.

Azoth nodded at that, a slight smile on his face as he reached over to the worktable and scooped up a simple, brown leather scabbard, and sheathed the blade. "Speaking of the Dungeon though, I hear that you might be heading down there soon with the Loki Familia?"

Blinking slightly at the sudden change in topic, it took her a few minutes to digest his question, before she nodded, a sly smile already spreading across her face. "That I am, why do you want in?"

"I wouldn't mind it." Azoth nodded, his expression turning serious.

"I'll keep you in mind then, we probably won't be going for a couple of weeks but I will let you know what Lady Hephaestus and I decide on." She replied.

She wasn't going to give him any more than that. The white haired elf might be strong and tough, but he obviously wasn't experienced with Dungeon diving. Whether or not she brought him along, very much depended on how she thought he would do in the Dungeon. She didn't want him to falter or get in over his head when they were on the deepest floors, to do so would not only put him at risk but all of them.

That said, she had a good opinion of him so far.

"I appreciate it." Azoth nodded. Thankfully not pushing the matter here and now like some Adventurers would have done.

"But anyway!" Tsubaki said, changing the topic of conversation now herself. "That's not why I came in here! No, I came to kick you out of the forge."

"Excuse me?" Azoth replied, his brow furrowing as his violet eyes bored into her.

"It's Monsterphilia, and you're new to the city. You shouldn't be cooped up in here, you should be out exploring!" Tsubaki continued undeterred. "Now come on, you're coming out with us. Leo, Charles, Lisabeth and even Welf are waiting for us in the main hall."

Cocking an eyebrow at this, Azoth looked to be on the verge of shooting her down.

"Oh come on, it's fun, and it'll be a good way for you to get to know your Familia! It's hard enough getting us all together at the best of times." She pressed on earnestly, her one visible eye locking with his. With how dedicated most of the Familia was to their craft, it was not an easy job at all corralling them and persuading them to go out together. Not when they all wanted to stay locked up in their forges, or in the shop selling their wares, or out buying new materials or harvesting them in the Dungeon.

Letting out a slight sigh, Azoth nodded.

"Fine." He said, grabbing up his newly forged sword. "I'll just go put something clean on!"

"Good, be down in around ten!" Tsubaki smiled, clapping him on the shoulder one more time, before she turned and swept out of his forge. "And don't look so dour, the festival is fun, you'll enjoy it!"

**( - )**

**(Elsewhere in Orario) **

Settling down at her table, Freya looking down from veranda she was sat at, at the busy streets of Orario below. A small smile of contentedness spreading across her face as she drank her tea in peace and just watched the world go by.

This was her temporary sanctuary, away from the bustling streets of Orario and the chattering children that inhabited it. This café was originally owned and started by a former member of her Familia, and now it was run by that Familia member's grandchild. As a primary stakeholder though, even now many years later, she was still allowed to book the whole veranda out as and when she pleased.

She didn't do it often, but sometimes her fellow gods got too whiny and annoying, or her children got too clingy and started bickering and squabbling to get her attention. It sometimes became too much, and she just needed space and time to herself.

Taking another sip of the sweet tea, Freya continued her observations. Her silver eyes moving over the teaming masses of mortals as they sold merchandise from their stalls, or chatted animatedly about the entertainment that would soon be starting in the amphitheatre.

It was Monsterphilia, or Monster Feria as it was once called. A festival that allowed the different Familia's to showcase their influence and wealth, or at least that was what it once was a few centuries ago. A chance for the Familia's and their gods to show off and try to one up one another. Nowadays though, few Familia still tried to take an active part in it beyond the crafting and farming Familia's selling their wares and produce.

Instead the festival had been usurped by the Ganesha Familia. With the main highlight of the festival being in the amphitheatre where the different members of that blowhard Ganesha's Familia showed off their monster taming abilities, and wowed and dazzled the crowds of simpleminded onlookers.

It was a somewhat tiring experience for her, especially since whenever she deigned to sit in on one of the performances she was swarmed by the other lesser gods and goddesses asking for favours, or trying to cling onto her coattails in the hopes that by merely being in her presence their place in the hierarchy of Orario will change.

It was not her cup of tea.

Smiling to herself at that thought, Freya took another sip of what was her cup of tea and let out another sigh.

Sometimes she just needed some alone time.

As if the world was trying to spite her, the sound of a familiar loud, obnoxious voice sounded out from inside of the café.

Her smile wavered slightly as she set her cup down on the table. Sometimes she needed that time away from others, but now was unfortunately not going to be that moment.

Pulling the black cloak she was wearing to hide her identity, tighter around her, Freya settled more comfortably into her seat as she waited for her guest to be shown through onto the veranda.

"Yo, sorry to keep you waiting." A loud voice called out cheerfully, shattering the calm silence she had otherwise been enjoying as the person she had invited finally arrived.

Setting down her tea, Freya forced a pleasant smile onto her face as she turned and saw Loki walking up to her, accompanied by a petit, blonde woman with a doll-like face and golden eyes. Loki's favourite pet, the famed Sword Princess.

"No need for apologies, you're right on time. I just came a little early," Freya said, her smile still present as she forced aside her distaste of the crass redhead, and instead turned to look at the blond swordswoman. "And she is...?"

"Ah, right, this is probably the first time you've met. This is Aiz from my Familia, that enough of an introduction for you?" Loki introduced her child, her tone brusque and dismissive. A complete contrast to the sudden sharpness that entered her gaze_. _

Seeing the expression on the other goddess' face made Freya's smile slightly more genuine. She had a bit of a reputation, she already knew that. Not that that bothered her, after all it was amusing to see how wary some of the other gods and goddesses got around her. They were fearful that she would charm their strongest children away from them, and instead entice them to her Familia.

Smiling slightly wider now, Freya continued to watch Aiz closely for a moment, looking beyond her fleshy exterior and to what really mattered, her soul. The rumours about her were not unfounded, after all if she ever saw a soul that caught her eye. Well, she liked to collect and surround herself with beautiful things. It was part of the game.

"Aiz," Loki continued, her eyes narrowing warningly at Freya as she moved to take the seat across the table from the other goddess. "You might not think it to look at her in her hood and black cloak, but this is the Goddess Freya, so at least greet her."

"...Hello." The girl introduced herself with a nod, her head tilting minutely to the side in curiosity as she met Freya's silver eyes. Only for a slight hint of pink to then spread across her cheeks, and surprise to enter her eyes as she did so.

It seemed, Freya thought, that not even the emotionless doll was immune to her Charm.

"She's as impressive as I had heard, I can see why you like her so much," Freya said pleasantly, and she was being honest. The Aiz girl had a strong soul, one which shone a vibrant gold colour. On top of which there was something different about her too, something far more complex than she had seen in the run of the mill adventurer. Though just what that was would have to wait for later. For now she wanted to get down to business, after all she had not invited Loki out here for just a chat. "So tell me, Loki. Why'd you bring her with you?"

"Well you know, with the Monsterphilia going on, I'm planning on going out to have some fun with Aiz here. We're on a date you know!" Loki grinned widely, her distrustful expression clearing as she instead gave Aiz a fond look, like a master would to a favourite pet. "Plus, if I leave her alone, she's sure to dive right back into the Dungeon. If someone doesn't take care of her, she'll spend her whole life without a break. I tell you, sometimes she works too hard for her own good!"

Freya smiled at that, it was sometimes necessary to humour, Loki. The other goddess was an odd one at the best of times. She mingled too freely with the mortals, and more often than not forgot her place. It was distasteful really, how she acted like a clown, like comic relief. Allowing her children to mock and make fun of her. It was sad really, and pitiful.

Still, it was none of her business. If that was how Loki wanted to spend her time on the mortal plane, then that was up to her. Every god and goddess that had come down to the mortal plane from the Heavens had had a reason for doing so. They all had their own games to play.

"Lovely," Freya smiled. "Though training should never be discouraged. Especially since I've heard rumours that you're Familia will be going back into the Dungeon again soon, on a much longer and deeper expedition. In fact I've heard that you are looking to go further down than anyone, save for the Zeus Familia, has ever gone before..."

"Oh, it looks like you've heard a lot then." Loki replied, her smile vanishing as her eyes narrowed warily. "It also sounds like some people have been being too free with their tongues."

"Yes, well mortals like gossip you know." Freya replied dryly.

"You say that like gods and goddesses don't…" Loki shot back, and she had a point. Gods and goddess were one thousand time worse than mortals when it came to gossip. "So is that why you called me here?"

"Partly." Freya shrugged carelessly, settling back in her seat as she did so her eyes still fixed on Loki. "I was hoping to enquire as to whether you would be taking any Familia members from outside of your own Familia with you?"

"So it's about a guy then?" Loki said bluntly, her caution giving way to resigned amusement. "Of course it's about a guy."

Freya simply smiled back, seemingly confirming Loki's assumption. Seeing this the goddess of mischief just sighed and leant back in her chair. "Really, that's why you dragged me all the way down here and interrupted my date, because you saw another guy you want to sink you're hooks into!"

Pushing back the hint of annoyance she felt at the goddess of mischiefs words. Freya instead sat straight again and shook her head. "As I said, it's not the only reason I asked to speak with you. I also wanted to discuss with you the possibility of making your expedition, into a joint one between our two Familias."

Loki stiffened slightly at the suggestion, caution and concern suddenly entering her gaze as she sat up straighter in her chair and locked eyes with Freya.

"This is, unexpected…" Loki said slowly.

"Really?" Freya smiled innocently.

"Ok, so what are you suggesting here? And why are you suggesting it?" Loki finally asked after a few moments of thought. Her distrust was clear to hear in her voice.

"I am merely offering some support. I was thinking of maybe sending a couple of my Level Fives and even a few Level Sixes with you, just to help bolster your ranks. As for why, well isn't helping out a fellow goddess enough? We all want to find out what is at the bottom of the Dungeon after all, that and the Guild does encourage the larger Familia's, like our own, to do regular expeditions into the Dungeon…" Freya replied smoothly, a beautiful smile on her face now. The kind of smile that would make a normal, weak-willed mortal fall instantly in love with her.

"If it was anyone else, maybe," Loki sighed, before she shook her head. "Let me guess, the real reason is because you are after someone from someone else's Familia, right? Which means that they are either someone in my Familia, or someone in one of the Familia's we'll likely be bringing with us... That narrows it down quite a bit. Hmm, since I don't think you're foolish enough to poach one of mine, I'm going to guess it is from another's Familia, and going off what I heard in that banquet. You're after Hephaestus's new boy toy. The elf, Azoth, right?"

Freya tilted her head to the side curiously at Loki's dissection of her actions. Sometimes it was surprising to see how intelligent Loki actually was beneath all of her bluster and clownishness. "I'll admit I am curious about the elven child, yes."

The Aiz girl noticeably stiffened at her words. Unfortunately though her face and eyes gave away nothing of what she was thinking or feeling, even to Freya's discerning eye.

"Huh, well you're not the only one curious. A Level Six like him turning up out of nowhere, and with no history, and with no one knowing anything about him. That's not something that happens. Something about the whole thing reeks of conspiracy. It is not possible for a Level Six to have gotten that strong without anyone having taken notice." Loki said, a frown on her face as she began to drum her fingers on the table. "Hephaestus claims he had a goddess before her, someone called Merida. You ever heard the name before?"

"No, it is not familiar." Freya shook her head. She too had heard the name from Hephaestus, but had found out nothing about her. She had even asked her contacts and scoured her library, and there was nothing. "But I too share your scepticism. There is something… unnatural about the child."

"Ha, and let me guess that's why you want him!" Loki snorted with laughter.

Freya just smiled in response. Loki was correct, she had seen the child's soul and it was without doubt the brightest and strangest she had ever seen. Where all other mortal's souls were just one colour, Azoth's soul was made up of hundreds. Maybe even thousands, of different colours and shades. It was a complex tapestry, one that was impossible to fully understand, even for one such as herself.

It was like he contained a thousand other souls in his body. Like he was a conglomeration of a thousand different lives, maybe past lives, in a single form. It was the only explanation she had for what she saw, impossible though it might be.

But then again that was why she wanted him. She wanted to talk to him, to find out what made him tick, what made him hot. She wanted to understand him as a person, and then divine the true nature of his impossible soul. He was a puzzle, a conundrum, that she could not resist wanting to solve.

"Ok fine," Loki finally nodded. "I'll pass on your offer to Finn. Since he's the one leading the expedition it is up to him over whether or not to accept your assistance. Though if we are to do this, I take it you'll be putting up some money to help fund the expedition too?"

There was a greedy glint in Loki's eyes as she said that. The sight of it almost made her roll her own eyes at the other Divine beings pettiness. "I would be amenable to that."

"Uh huh," Loki nodded, a slight smile still playing around her mouth. "You know Hephaestus is going to be pissed if you steal away her newest kid? Hell she might even ban you and your Familia from her shops, and from buying her wares."

"I doubt that she would ever be that foolish." Freya said, waving Loki's comments away dismissively, like an errant fly. As the most powerful Familia in Orario, she and her children had little to fear from Hephaestus. If it came down to it, she could and would strong arm the other goddess into reversing any sanctions she might want to dish out.

"You never change, do you?" Loki rolled her eyes. "One of these days you're going to fly too close to the sun and get burnt."

"Maybe, but not today I think." Freya smiled, picking up her still warm tea and taking another sip of it as she did so.

Now that she had dealt with Loki, and made her offer of support on the upcoming expedition, it was time for her to have some fun of her own.

Azoth wasn't the only soul that had caught her attention after all, there was another soul. One which was simple, where his was complex. Weak where his was strong. Pure, where his was corrupted. The contrast between the two was truly delightful.

**( - )**

**(With Azoth)**

Walking down the streets wearing a fresh white shirt, wool coat and leather trousers, his newly forged sword sheathed and strapped to his hip, Azoth couldn't help but grin as he looked around at all the stores and festival goers. There were more people here than he had ever seen in one place, or at least in one place outside of a battlefield.

It was amazing. The vibe in the city was infectious, and he, like the rest of his Familia, was getting caught up in it.

"Oi, Azoth!" Leo shouted from nearby as both he and Charles returned from a nearby pop up stall that was selling beer, several wooden flagons of ale in each hand as they returned to the group. "This is your first time to Monsterphilia isn't it!?"

Taking the ale that was offered to him by the half elf, Azoth took a long gulp of it and let out a sigh, smacking his lips together as he did in a distinctly undignified way. "Yeah, never been to the city before!"

"Haha well you're in for a treat then!" Leo grinned, slapping him on the shoulder. "You want to head over and see the main event, the monster taming!?"

"Or we can get more beer?" Charles offered with a smirk, downing his flagon of beer moments later.

"I'll drink to that!" Erhard, another member of the Hephaestus Familia. A bald, tanned human, with a cheerful, solid disposition nodded. A bright smile on his face a she clapped Charles on the back after he began coughing, a foam moustache visible on the younger humans upper lip.

Laughing at this, Welf shook his head. "There's plenty to do and see, and the taming will be going on all day. There no rush."

"Yeah besides, I want to get some food first." Lisbeth, the pink haired pallum tagged on, rolling her eyes at the two heavily built humans antics. "How about Tsubaki, how about we go grab some food?"

"Can do, do you lot want to get some tables and we'll bring it over. After that we can go to the amphitheatre and see the taming." Tsubaki nodded, a smirk on her face as she allowed herself to be pulled away by the impatient pink haired, child-like blacksmith. The Captain of the Familia deliberately grabbing onto Welf's coat as she was pulled away. "And you can give us a hand Welfy!"

"Urgh, do I have too…?" Welf groaned, sending a scowl in Leo's direction as the short half elf started cackling in delight at the redhead's misfortune.

"Not sure what you're laughing about short fry." Erhard chuckled. "You're coming with me to get another round of beer!"

"What? But I just went!" Leo complained, not that he put up much of a fight as Erhard dragged him away. Instead the half elf just rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his drink.

Taking another gulp of his beer, Azoth couldn't help but laugh at his Familia members shenanigans. It reminded him so much of his time in the Companions, the comradery, and the inside jokes.

"Looks like it's up to us to get the tables then." Charles chuckled, a grin on his face as he looked over at the white haired elf.

The two smiths were a complete contrast to one another. Where Azoth was tall and broad shoulder, with white hair, delicate facial features and porcelain skin. Charles was much shorter, and stockier, with dark skin, plain features and short messy black hair.

"Sounds like a plan." Azoth nodded, smiling back at the affable human as he did so.

With that said the two of them started to make their way through the streets, looking around as they did for a nearby free table, or free place for them to sit and eat.

Unfortunately however, the two of them had barely made it a few steps before the atmosphere suddenly changed, and screams started to sound out in the distance.

**( - )**

**AN: And it was looking to be such a peaceful day, one full of fun and friendship. Pity it couldn't last, I do enjoy writing the dialogue between the blacksmith of the Hephaestus Familia. **

**So yep, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and haven't given up on the story yet. Things will be kicking off soon with the plot, so I hope you all stay tuned. **

**Thanks a lot for reading, and I hope you leave a review. If you have any questions feel free to PM me, I tend to be quite good at answering those. **

**Thanks a lot.**

**Greed720.**


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